


School Friends

by regal_plant



Category: Orange is the New Black
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-30
Updated: 2014-12-31
Packaged: 2018-02-06 21:48:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 34
Words: 94,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1873704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/regal_plant/pseuds/regal_plant
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>High School AU.<br/>Alex Vause is a new student at Piper's high school. While Piper's friends don't like Alex, Piper is quite drawn to her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The New Girl.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I really enjoyed writing this, so i hope to continue writing! There is a long hiatus, so i hope this will keep you busy.  
> This will revolve around Alex and Piper, but Nicky will have a big part in it as well!  
> So i hope you all enjoy!

1.

It was the first day of tenth grade. Piper knew she had to really start focusing on her grades and be focused. Grade nine for Piper was a mess. Her marks dropped a bit, but enough for her father to get angry at her. 

  
Piper started off her year by running 10 minutes late. “I’m going to kill Cal for changing my clock.” She said as she raced to find her class. 

She walked into her class to find a whole tone of students sitting and talking to each other. The teacher was paying no attention to what was going on. Piper looked around the class and spotted two of her friends in the back of the class. She walked over to the two of them and sat down beside her friend Sarah. 

“So what’s with this teacher?” Piper asked. 

“He’s known to be some really laid back guy, but a really hard marker. for whenever he gives us stuff to be marked.” Sarah replied. 

Piper looked over at him. He was sitting there reading the paper and drinking coffee. He was a younger looking guy. 

The class started to get louder as more people showed up late. 

“Hey, have you guys ever seen her before?” said Pipers other friend, Kathryn. She was pointing over to the girl who was just walking into the class.

 Everyone in the room got a tiny bit quieter. People had stopped talking about whatever they were talking about before, and started talking about the new girl. No one was being subtle about it. Not even Kathryn or Sarah. 

There were only two seats left in the class. One in the front of the room, and one in the back near Piper. 

The girl walked to the back of the room and sat down in the seat diagonal from Piper. Kathryn shot her a look, and then turned back to Sarah and Piper. 

“hey, new girl.” Sarah said. 

 

The girl turned around and looked at the three of them. “Yeah?”

 

“What’s your name?” Kathryn asked. 

 

“Uh, it’s Alex…” she replied. She opened her bag and pulled out a book. She turned around and opened up her book and started to read. 

 

Alex was a tall girl, who had black hair, glasses with big black frames, and green eyes. She was wearing a black hoodie, a grey shirt, black skinny jeans, and worn out black converse. 

“hey we weren’t done talking to you!” Sarah said loudly. She took out her binder and got a pice of paper. She crumpled it up into a ball and then threw it at Alex.   
  
The ball landed on Alex’s desk right in front of her. Alex chuckled a bit and then turned to Sarah. “You may not be done talking to me, but i sure as hell am done talking to you.”   
  
Sarah had no idea how to reply to that. Kathryn looked angry and turned to Sarah, but didn’t say anything. 

Piper was just sitting there watching the whole thing as if she wasn’t even there. She wished she had the guts to actually tell them to stop being such assholes, but she couldn’t. She just sat there and watched. Alex could hold her own, but Piper hated seeing her being treated like that for no reason. 

Piper noticed a guy stand up. Todd Deeks. Piper had had a huge crush on him all through grade 9. She still had one now. He walked over towards her. He looked over at Alex for a second, and then ignored her presence. 

 

“Hey Piper. How’s it going?” He stood over her desk awkwardly. Sarah and Kathryn shot looks at each other and started to laugh. He looked over at them for a second and then back to Piper. 

 

“It’s uh, going well.” She smiled at him and he knelt down at her desk. 

 

“I was wondering if maybe you’d like to go out on a date with me on friday?”  
  
Piper was shocked. This was something she had wanted for so long, and it felt so good to be asked. It also felt a little off because they had never really spoken a lot before. They worked together on a few science labs the year before. He would always make her laugh and he was really kind to her, but he never did much of the actual work. Piper didn’t really notice, as she was too distracted by him actually being there. 

 

“uh… I uh-“ Piper couldn’t manage to get out any full words. She looked over to Sarah and Kathryn who were laughing and whispering. Piper looked back to him, and then looked over to Alex for a second, then looked back to him. “Yeah, i would really like that.” She finally said. 

 

“Cool. Here’s my number. I’ll see you on Friday.” He stood up and walked back over to his desk. 

 

Piper turned over to Sarah who had her head on her desk. She was laughing.   
  
“What the hell is so funny?” Piper asked.   
  
Sarah lifted her head and looked at Piper. “You are such an idiot. How are you going to be able to talk to him on a date when you can barley talk to him now?” She put her head back down and continued laughing. Piper just shot her and Kathryn a glare. 

* * *

First and second period was a bore. Alex’s first two classes involved a lot of sitting around and doing nothing. Thankfully she had her books to keep her busy. 

People were being jerks to her. During second period, their teacher left to take a phone call and never came back. After 5 minutes of the teacher being called, kids started to get really loud. Some kid with a plastic bottle of water decided it would be fun to throw it at someone. That someone ended up being Alex. 

“What the hell man?” she said as she stood up, water dripping down from her head. The guy managed to hit her right on her head, with the cap taken off. 

People just started to laugh.

she rolled her eyes, picked up her things and then started to leave the classroom. As she got to the final row of desks at the front, the kid sitting in one desk stuck her leg out, making Alex trip and fall on the floor. 

Alex was use to this kind of stuff, so she didn’t fall hard. She landed on her knees. It hurt a lot, but she just stood back up and walked out the door. 

She left the school building. She looked around outside and saw a group of trees on one side, and a big tree on the other all on it’s own. She decided to go to the single tree standing on its own. 

It was a warm day, the sun shining brightly. Alex sat down in the shade leaning against the tree. She opened up her book. Only a few pages got wet. She was still very annoyed about it, but worse things had happened to more than one of her books before. 

Before long groups of people started to pour out of the school. Thankfully no one had bothered to go near her. 

Alex got lost in her book. She was so into it that she didn’t realize that someone had actually come over there. 

  
“Hey.”  

Alex looked up to see Piper standing over her with a small smile on her face. 

“Uh, hey.” She said. 

Piper sat down beside her and gave her a little wave. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you. My friends and I normally sit here so…”

“Oh shit. Sorry. I can move.” Alex pulled her bag closer, closed her book, and put it in her bag.  
  
“No no. It’s fine. My friends went to go buy food anyway. So i’d be alone here…”   
  
“Oh uhm… Okay…” Alex didn’t really know what to do. She had no idea who this girl was and she didn’t really want to sit there with her in an awkward and uncomfortable silence. All Alex knew was that this girl was the nicest person she had met today. In fact, Piper was being nicer to her then anyone else had ever really been. 

“Hey i’m sorry about my friends this morning. They were being assholes and well- i just want to apologize.” Piper said as she turned her head so she could see Alex. 

“Wait- Are you apologizing for them, or are you apologizing for just sitting on your ass and not saying anything to them?” 

  
“I uhm… I was uh…” Piper once again, didn’t know what to say. She looked away from Alex, and looked down.

“Wow. You are really easily flustered, aren’t you?” Alex said laughing a bit. Piper just kept looking down. She looked kind of sad, and she looked like she was genuinely sorry about what had happened.  “Your names Piper, right?”

“Yeah” She nodded her head and looked back at Alex.   
  
“It’s good to meet you Piper. I’m Alex.” She stuck out her hand. Piper took her hand and grasped it firmly.   
  
“It’s nice to meet you.” Piper smiled a small smile, which was enough for Alex to smile. 

“I should probably be going somewhere else. I see your friends and we aren’t big fans of each other. I’ll see you later though.” Alex stood up and grabbed her backpack and put one strap around her shoulder. She started to walk away. 

  
Piper watched as Alex went and sat alone by herself. As Sarah and Kathryn and Amy spoke about boys and clothes, all Piper could think of was Alex. They had spent almost no time together, but already their conversation was ten times more interesting than the one being had now. 

For the rest of the day Alex was all Piper could think about. This new girl who was being picked on for no good reason was someone special. Piper has always had friends, but she didn’t see what she sees in Alex in any of them. 

It was their conversation under the tree that made this one thing very clear; 

Alex was different.


	2. Why go to class on a Friday afternoon?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! So here is chapter two! It took me a while to figure out how to end this chapter, and i'm actually quite pleased with it. Chapter 2 and 3 take place on the same day, so I hope this will get you excited for the second part.   
> I hope you enjoy this! And thanks to all who have read!

The first week of school was always the weirdest. You never really did much in class, as your teachers just wanted to get to know you. Sometimes there were new students, or students you never had a class with before. There was more people to get to know. 

 

It was Friday, and Piper was getting nervous. Her date with Todd was tonight. It had been the slowest week leading up to this day. Piper was looking forward to this day, she had been for ages now. 

 

Piper was laying on the grass outside. No one ever liked to stay at school so lunch was really one of her favourite times. She loved learning and being in class, but on days like today, she was happier outside minding her own business. 

 

A shadow appeared and blocked the sun.   
  
“Pipeerr!” Kathryn dropped from her feet and sat down beside her. Piper sat up and smiled at her friend. 

 

“So are you nervous about tonight? God, Todd is soo cute. You’ve been dreaming about this for ages.” She nudged Piper.

 

“I”m trying not to think about it. I’ll just get to excited and then it’ll be weird” Piper laughed. 

 

“Guess who’s going on a double daattee!” Sarah said excitedly as she approached the two sitting in the grass.   
  
Piper and Kathryn both stared at her. 

“It’s us!” Sarah said as she sat down beside Piper and put her arm around her. 

 

“What? Since when?” Piper was confused. She looked over to her friend who was beaming.

 

“Sincce… Second period! Todd's friend Mark asked me. He said Todd had 4 tickets to the soccer game tonight.”   
  
“Soccer!? That’s what we are doing tonight?” Piper wasn’t a fan of sports. She could stand it being on whenever her father would be watching it on TV, but she never liked going to games. Soccer was probably one of her least favourite sports.

 

“Come on Piper, you know they’re both on the soccer team. It really doesn’t surprise me.” Sarah replied. 

 

“Okay while you two plan your entire evening, i’m going to go to the library.” Kathryn stood up and waved bye. “See you two later.”   


Piper and Sarah waved back and then turned to each other, said nothing, and then burst into laughter.   


“Shit I forgot she was there. Wow.” Piper said.   


The two of them continued to talk about Todd and Mark and they planned their evening. 

 

* * *

 

Kathryn was in the library looking for a free computer. She needed to print off her paper for her history class. 

 

She looked around and saw no free computers. “fuck” She said under her breath. She noticed Alex sitting at one of the computers. Kathryn walked over to her. 

 

“Hey new girl. Wanna get out of my seat?”   
  
Alex looked over to see Kathryn standing behind her. She rolled her eyes and looked back to the screen. “Bitch.” She logged off and got up.”I was done with it anyway.”  Alex shot her a glare before walking away. 

 

Kathryn sat down. She noticed a phone sitting beside the computer. She picked it up and unlocked it. “holy shit. This is that girls phone,” she whispered to herself. 

 

She logged on and printed her paper as fast as she could. When she was done she raced to find Sarah and Piper. Kathryn was dying to look through the texts, but she knew Sarah would kill her if she did. 

 

She got outside and  ran over to where she last saw the two. They were still there, but they moved over back under the tree. 

 

“Hey guys!” Kathryn yelled. 

 

“Hey Kat. what’s got you so up beat? Oh god, it’s not a triple date now… is it?” Piper asked. A worried look crossed her face, though it was barely noticeable. Piper had been looking forward to her date with Todd, and finding out it wasn’t going to just be them, and at a soccer game, made her somewhat disappointed. 

 

Sarah looked eager to know what was up with Kathryn as well. 

 

“Okay so you know that new girl? Alice… Alexis… A-something…?”   
  
Piper and Sarah nodded. “What about her?” Sarah asked, seeming a bit more disinterested in someone like her. 

 

“I went to the library, and there was no free computer left. So I went over to her and got her to get out of the way so I could use it, and she left her phone there.” Kathryn pulled out a small Nokia phone. It was a silver, and it had a touch screen, but it was fairly beat up. 

 

“Holy. Shit. You took her phone!?” Sarah said as she grabbed the phone out of Kathryn's hands. “Please tell me you haven’t look through it yet. Or if you have, anything good?”

“I haven’t looked through it yet. I’m sure there is going to be something interesting on here.”  
  
Piper hated things like this. She really liked her friends, but every now and then they would do something like this, and it really bugs her. She wanted to speak up, but every time she did, they just ignored her. They could be very mean if they wanted to be. 

 

"Guys maybe you shouldn't look through her phone..."

 

Kathryn and Sarah looked up at her for a second and then continued to look through her phone. There wasn't much on the phone. There were no photos, and almost no contacts. 

 

"What a loser, She has about 5 contacts on here." Sarah said with a rather bitchy tone. 

 

"Oh okay let's get to her texts." Kathryn took the phone and opened up Alex's messages. 

 

There weren't many conversations on the phone. 

 

"Damn this sucks." Kathryn said. She opened up a conversation with someone named "Nicky"

 

They scrolled up through some of the messages. She seemed to be a good friend of Alex's. 

 

"Holy shit. Is she a lesbian!?" Sarah said so loudly that she was practically yelling. "Okay Piper, you seriously need to read this."

 

As much as Piper didn't want to look, she got kind of curious. Piper really tried to seem uninterested and act cool.

 

_Nicky- okay so tell me more about this girl you met._

_You- it's nothing. Out of all the people treating me like crap, she was the only one who was actually nice._

_Nicky- Ah okay. Is the great Alex Vause starting to have a crush on someone? Is that even something that can happened?_

_You- ha ha. Look, I've only spoken to her like, twice. Sure we have a lot of classes together, but she's just. Let's not jump to conclusions._

_Nicky- alright, I'm sure it's just nothing..._

 

Piper took the phone and read over the texts a few more times. _There's no way this is about me... Is it?_ She thought. Piper got out of the conversation, closed the messages app, and locked the phone. 

 

_“_ You should have never taken her phone. I think I have class with her next.” Piper stood up and started to walk towards the school entrance. 

 

“Aww come on Piper.” Sarah stood up and ran after Piper, Kathryn following. 

 

They both stood on one side of Piper.   
  
“What, are you jealous that she’s interested in someone else?” Kathryn said with a sarcastic tone, and a pouty expression. 

 

Piper started to walk faster to get away from the two. Kathryn left Sarah and Piper to go to her class. 

 

Sarah was trying to keep up with Piper, although it was getting a bit tiring. They got to Pipers locker. 

 

“Seriously, what’s with you? We were having a great time talking about our date two-seconds before, and you were happy”  
  
Piper opened her locker, got out her stuff and put it into her bag. “It’s nothing Sarah. I just feel bad for Alex… okay?”  
  
“Geez okay. I didn’t realize you had so much of a crush on her.” Sarah hit Piper on the arm jokingly. “Don’t tell that to your hot date tonight though, i’m sure _HE_ will keep you occupied enough tonight.” Sarah winked and then walked away. She put a lot of emphasis on the word “he.”

 

Piper stood there and watched her friend walk away. _What the hell was that?_  

 

She closed her locker and then headed towards class. When she got there she noticed a lot of kids walking out of the class. She looked into the room and saw an older man sitting at the teachers desk. _A fucking substitute? Great._

 

Piper walked into the room and saw a few kids sitting at desks just talking to each other. She spotted Alex in the left corner of the room in the back.   
  
Alex looked upset. Angry. She was looking down, he legs stretched out, and one arm crossed holding her upper arm. She didn’t noticed Piper sit beside her. 

 

“Alex?” 

  
She turned her head over to where the voice came from.   


“Alex are you okay?”  Piper moved her chair closer to the girl. 

“Yeah, Some fucking asshole stole my phone. I know it’s just a phone, but my mom saved up so much to get me one.” She sighed and rolled her eyes. “I swear to god whoever took my phone will regret it.”

  
Piper felt guilty about the fact that her friends took her phone. She felt bad. She was kind of scared to give Alex back her phone, seeing how angry she was, but she knew she had to do it.   
  
“Here, My asshole of a friend took this… she found it in the library.” Piper put the phone onto the desk in front of Alex. “Sorry.”

 

Alex looked up at Piper. She didn’t know if she should be angry at her or not. She decided that being grateful was better, as she trusted Piper didn’t actually take it herself. 

 

“Thank you. Wow. Most people would have just sold it and never think twice about it.” She paused for a second. “hey, do you want to maybe, get out of here?”  
  
Skipping class was something that Piper would never have thought of to do. It was something she didn’t want to ever do. Her father always told  her that she had to go to class not matter what. She had always done what he said, so of course, skipping class was something that she would never consider doing. That is, until she met Alex Vause. 

 

“Yeah, Sure.” Piper grabbed her bag in stood up. “I’m going to the washroom.” She yelled to the teacher, who just looked up for a second from the newspaper, and then looked back down. 

 

Piper left the room first, followed by Alex. 

 

* * *

 

The two of them decided to go to a park that was just down the street from their school. No one was really around, as mostly everyone was in class. 

 

Alex went and sat on the play structure. There was a little tunnel that she went and sat in. It was a fairly big tunnel, which was good or else Alex would have never been able to fit in there. 

 

“Really? A tunnel?” Piper said as crawled in and sat facing towards Alex. 

 

“This is my favourite place in a playground- or was, whenever I use to go to one.”   
  
The two of them sat there in silence for a while. It wasn’t really planned. Neither of them new each other well at all, but they both seemed to want to be around each other. Alex normally kept to herself, and why she asked Piper to skip with her was beyond her. Why Piper even said yes made no sense to either of them.

 

“So uhm, are you new in town or are you just new to the school?” Piper asked.

 

“New to the school. I use to go to that school just a few blocks away from here. but then i got kicked out…” 

 

“Oh. What happened?”  
  
Alex was hesitant to answer. She wasn’t someone who really spoke to people about things like this. “I uh- I…”  
  
“Now look who’s flustered.” Piper smiled a goofy smile and laughed. Alex laughed sarcastically. 

 

“I got kicked out for fighting. It really wasn’t my fault though. These jerks had been bullying me all year, and things got rough. This one girl pushed me onto the ground and I hit my head against the ground pretty badly. She then kicked me a few times and then stopped, letting me get up.  I then decided I should fight back. So I punched her in the face. More then once too.”  
  
Piper had no idea what to say. At first she thought that maybe she shouldn’t be around this girl, but as she continued speaking, she realized that she was trying to defend herself. Why was everyone so horrible to her?

 

“Did she get kicked out too?”  
  
“No, she didn’t.” Alex said as she shook her head. “Since I was bigger than this girl, the school thought I started it, and that she was just defending herself.” 

“What the hell… that’s fucked up.” Piper shook her head and then looked over at Alex. “Do you wish you were still at your old school?”  
  
“At first, I hated the idea of moving schools. My best friend Nicky is there, and I hated leaving her. But then when school started, I hated the fact that I switched schools even more…” Alex chuckled and looked at Piper who looked sad.

 

“I'm sorry. That really sucks, and I wish there was someone here for you.”   
  
“There is… at least I hope there is.”  She stopped for a moment. “Can I ask you a question?”  
  
Piper nodded her head, unsure of what could possibly be running through Alex’s head.

 

“Piper, do you wanna be my friend?” The second the words left Alex’s mouth she regretted saying it.

 

“Yeah, I would actually really like that.” Piper smiled. 

 

Just like that the two were friends. They were to opposites, but they worked so well together. 

 

“Oh god. Do I have to be friends with those people who hate me? Because wow, That won't be a fun situation.” Alex laughed.

 

“No, I think you’ll be okay. Besides, i’ll make sure I have tons of time with you.” Piper smiled. She then rested her hand on top of Alex’s. 

 

“Good, Because I think they really fucking hate me.” 

 

The two just sat there looking at each other for what seemed like ages. Piper’s phone chimed, startling the two. 

 

_Sarah- Piper where are you?_

 

“Oh shit. I have class.” Piper tried to jump up, but she hit her head on the top of the tunnel. 

 

Alex laughed and then slipped out of the tunnel. Piper, on her second try, followed. The two headed back to school, unable to control their goofy smiles.

 

_I kind of hope she was talking about me in that text._ Piper thought as she looked over to Alex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought of the ending!   
> I'm pretty satisfied with it.   
> Keep an eye out of chapter 3!


	3. Date Night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here is chapter 3! This is probably one of my favourite chapters that I have written so far. It's full of Vauseman-y fluff. I plan on making this a slow burn though, so I will have fun with that.   
> Thank you guys for all your reviews so far! I love hearing what you have to say. So thank you!

 

“That was such a boring class. Oh my god. I can’t believe that was only an hour. It felt like five.” Sarah groaned as the leaned on to Piper. “So are you getting nervous?”

  
“Uhm, you know I actually managed to take my mind off of it. But now that you mention it… I’m nervous.” Piper replied. 

 

They got to their lockers. Piper started to put away some of her binders. She noticed Alex walking her way. She smiled at her and waved. Piper was about to walk up to her when she felt a tap on her shoulder. 

 

“Hey Piper.”   
  
She turned around to see Todd standing there with Mark.   
  
“Hey Todd.” She smiled. Piper looked over at Alex who had clearly changed the direction of where she was going. Her smile faded a bit as she saw her walk away. 

 

Sarah leaned over to Piper “Please tell me you were not just waving to her. I swear if she comes near us-“    
  
Piper cut her off. “You know Sarah, I was just waving at her. Alex is a nice person, and if I want to be friends with her, then I will be.”  
  
“Whoa geez. Okay fine. Fine. I just wouldn’t get involved with someone like her, so be careful. Okay?”  
  
Piper nodded slightly.   
  
“Alex? As in the new girl?” Todd asked. Piper nodded her head again.   
  
“Dammnn she is  _hot_.” Mark said as he looked to see if she was around. 

 

Todd hit Mark on the arm, getting him to shut up.   
  
“So we will see you tonight. I’ll pick you up at 6:30. If you could both be at Pipers place, that’d be awesome.”  Mark said.   
  
“Yeah for sure!” Sarah replied.   
  
The two then turned around and walked away.   
  
Sarah started to giggle. Piper closed her locker and then two started to walk towards the exit. Piper was getting really excited about her date, although she wished she could talk to Alex about it. Speaking of Alex, there she was.   
  
Alex was starting to walk down the street. Piper told Sarah to wait where she was, or find Kathryn or Amy or someone. 

 

“Alex!” Piper yelled as she caught up to her. 

 

“Hey.” She said as she stopped and turned around.   
  
“I have to get going, so i’ll make this quick. But uh… Can I have your number?” 

 

“Uh, yeah sure.” Alex got a pen out of her bag, rolled up the sleeve of Pipers hoodie and wrote down her number.

  
The touch of Alex’s hand on her skin made her feel good. She liked the feeling of Alex touching her, even if it was just for a few seconds. 

 

“You’re going on a date with that Todd guy tonight, right?” Alex asked as she put the pen away.   
  
“Yeah I am. Why?” Piper questioned. 

 

“I was just wondering…” She paused. “Look, I still don’t know you very well, but I would be careful with him. I sit beside him in one of my classes. He’s nice but… I would just watch out.”  
  
Piper didn’t know how to take this information. She was grateful for it, but she also didn’t like to hear that the person she was about to go on a date with, didn’t seem, that great.   
  
“Thanks… I’m going with two other people, so i should be fine… but uh, you sit beside him? Well, I hope I don’t lose him to you then.” She laughed. 

 

“Oh I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that.” Alex said. She stepped away from Piper.

 

“Yeah? And why’s that? He’s hot, your… hot… It makes sense,”  _where the hell did that come from Piper?_

 

Alex started to walk away, still facing Piper. “It’s because i’m really fucking gay.” She laughed to herself and then turned around and continued to walk. She turned around for a second to see Piper just standing still. She laughed some more and then waved. Piper waved back. 

 

Piper ran back over to find Sarah, who was sitting talking with their friend Amy. 

 

"Piper, you finally made it back." Sarah said as she started to walk away from the school.

 

 If Piper didn't have to go home with Sarah she would have walked home with Alex. Or at least down the street with her. It was actually faster to go that way, but none of her friends seemed to cares about how Piper wanted to get to her own house. They always just started walking where they wanted to. 

 

* * *

 

Sarah and Piper had spent the rest of the afternoon getting ready. It was 6:30 and the boys were right on time. Mark was a year older than us, so he was able to drive. 

 

Sarah got in the front seat with Mark, and Piper sat in the back with Todd. 

 

The whole car ride was sort of awkward. There was conversation, it just wasn't really a full conversation. Piper kind of regretted saying yes to this date. It was something she had wanted, but it wasn't what she thought. Todd was a nice guy, but not that interesting. He loved soccer, and he loved video games, but that was about it. There really wasn't a lot to him. 

 

_What a fun night this will be…_  Piper thought. She so wished she didn’t have to be with Sarah most of this time, either. 

 

* * *

 

“So how much did your week suck without me?” Nicky asked as she sat on Alex’s swivel chair.

 

“Oh it was pure torture. I don’t know how I even survived before I met you.” Alex meant that, but there was a hint of sarcasm. 

 

“Just hope your not cheating on me.”  
  
“I would never…” 

 

“Okay but for serious. How was it? It had to have been better then my shit-hole of a school.” Nicky kept swirling in the chair. She always liked to sit there; it was entertaining. 

 

“You know, it wasn’t horrible. The people there try to get to me, but really, they’re just pathetic.” Alex rolled her eyes and leaned back against the wall. 

 

“Huh. But uh, what about that girl? The one who was nice to you? She become any more of a bitch?”  


“Who? Piper? Uh… no. She’s uh- she’s actually really nice. Her friends on the other hand… they hate my guts. But I hate them too, so at least it’s mutual. They even stole my fucking phone.”

 

“Oh shit. Really? What bitches.” 

 

“Alex honey, i’m heading out for work. I’ll be home in the morning. Nicky you are welcome to stay over tonight.” Alex’s mother said, as she stood in the door frame of Alex’s room. 

 

“Okay mom, i’ll see you later.”

 

“Yeah see you later Diane. Who know’s where i’ll end up tonight, this one over here is a wild one.” Nicky eyed over to Alex with a slight head tilt in her direction. 

 

Diane laughed and shook her head a little. “I left $25 on the counter for food.” She waved her hand bye, and walked out of their apartment. 

 

Alex picked up a sock that was at the edge of her bed, and threw it at Nicky, landing on her head. 

 

“Thanks Vause. how’d you know this was all i’ve ever wanted?” She swirled around once, the sock sliding off of her head. 

 

  _Buzz buzz_. Alex's phone lit up. 

 

"What the fuck?" Alex looked over to her small desk where she had put her phone. 

 

Nicky swirled around and picked it up. "There's no contact name. It's just a number."

She tossed the phone over to Alex, who just barely caught it. "So I know I'm not texting you. Who the hell is it?"

 

Alex's lips curved up awards as she opened the message. It was from Piper. 

 

_-Hey. Its Piper. My date is going horribly. Help?_

 

"Okay now you're smiling at random number dude. Who is it?" Nicky rolled over on the chair up to Alex's bed. Trying to lean over and read the text. 

 

_Alex- I'd love to help._

 

"Seriously, Alex. You're killing my with suspense. Who's the mystery person?"

 

"It's uh. Piper." She looked back at her phone. Piper had replied back already. 

 

_Piper- come to the Starbucks by the school. They're talking about going back to his place. Hurry._

 

"Hey do you mind if go pick her up in your car?" Alex looked up at Nicky who had a smirk on her face. 

 

"I'm dying to meet this girl, so fuck yeah. Let's go!" She jumped up and started heading towards the door. 

 

Alex rolled her eyes, stood up and followed Nicky out the door. 

 

* * *

 

Pipers date had been horrible. About halfway through their date, Todd started to be a real asshole. Starting to make offensive comments. At one point her basically said that he only wanted to go out with Piper so he could get into her pants. 

 

She checked her phone and saw that she had received a reply from Alex. 

 

_Alex- come outside._

 

"Guys. This was really fun, but I have to go." She stood up, hugged Sarah and walked out the door. 

She saw an Audi parked right in front. Alex leaned out the window. 

 

"C'mon. Were here to steal you away."

 

As Piper was about to start walking towards the car Todd rushed out and grabbed her. He leaned down and kissed Piper. As much as her date with him sucked, she still found him extremely hot. She kissed him back. A few seconds later he pulled away.

 

"Are you sure you want to leave? We could always continue this at my place." He had this look in his eye. Piper knew exactly where he wanted to take things, but she didn't want to. 

 

"I'm pretty sure. This was... Fun." She waved at him goodbye just before she walked away and got into the car. 

 

When Piper got into the car she realized that there was someone else there. "Uh Hi."

 

"So you must be Piper. Huh. It's good to meet you. Alex here, won't shut up about you." She laughed and started to drive. 

 

"Shut up." Alex rolled her eyes and turned around to look at Piper. "Piper, this is my friend Nicky. Nicky, this is Piper." 

 

Piper remembered her name.  _Nicky._ The thing is, Piper knew ales had spoked to Nicky about her. She knew it and that made Piper feel oddly flattered, but also a bit uncomfortable. 

 

"So uh, where are we going?" Piper asked. 

 

"Well, I don't know about you Alex, but I was thinking going back to your place and ordering a pizza."

 

"I'm cool with that. How about you Piper?" 

 

"Uh yeah sure. That sounds good."

 

They got to Alex's small apartment building. The building it's self wasn't that big. There were about 10 people living in it. Piper had seen Alex walking home from school, but she didn't realize that she had to walk 45 minutes there and back. It was further than she thought. 

 

They entered Alex's apartment. Alex flicked on the light switch and dialled the pizza place. Nicky lead Piper over to the couch where they sat down. 

 

"So Piper, What made you want to leave your really hot boyfriend and come hang out with us people? You don't seem like the kind of girl who would ever consider being friends with someone like Alex."

 

"Like Alex?" Piper questioned. She looked over at Alex who didn't seem to be paying attention to their conversation. 

 

"You know... Someone who uh, you just seem like you would hang out with different people."

 

"Oh uh. I'm not sure, honestly. Alex and I have spoken a few times and she seemed nice. I can't really stand any of my current friends right now. They're all so self-obsessed."

 

"Huh." Nicky looked at Piper and nodded her head in approval. "Okay. Well, you seem pretty cool. But uh... I'm telling you now, if you ever hurt her, you will have trouble. Alex is my best friend, and she doesn't let people be too friendly with her. You are the first person she's wanted to be friends with in a while, so just don't fuck it up and hurt her."

 

Alex walked over to the two of them and sat on the floor in front of the couch. "I ordered a cheese pizza. Hope that's okay with you Piper."

 

"Oh yeah that's good. That sounds good." She was starting to smile really big. She tried not to, but it just got hard. 

 

"What are you smiling at?" Alex asked. 

 

"Nothing. It's just- Nicky here, she's really got your back. Your lucky." 

 

Alex smiled back, and then smiled at Nicky who had a tiny smile on her face. Nicky hated compliments, but she was always thankful. 

 

"You know Alex, I really like this girl." Nicky laughed. 

 

About 20 minutes later and the pizza had arrived. The three of them sat down on the floor with the pizza box in the middle. 

 

“Hey do you guys want to play a game?” Alex asked. 

 

“Depends on what game you have in mind there.” Nicky replied. 

 

“Uh, i’ve got monopoly?” 

 

“Oh I don’t know… we just became friends, are you sure you're ready to risk that?” Piper said, trying to act as serious as possible. 

 

“I’m sure we’ll be fine.” Alex got up and walked into her room. She came back out shortly after holding the game. “Alright are you two ready to get your asses kicked?”

 

“You bet.” Nicky said as she moved the pizza out of the way. 

 

“Oh I totally call the dog!” Piper yelled. 

 

“Dammit Piper. Well, I guess i’ll go with the horse.” Nicky replied. 

 

“Uh I guess i’ll be the wheelbarrow then.” Alex sat down opening the box.She got out the board and laid it on the ground in-between the three of them. She got out the trey that held the money. She got out the three pieces and the dice. She put the pieces on go. “Here Nicky, you be in charge of the money.” 

 

“Do you really think i’m able to do that?” Nicky asked. 

 

“Uh… on second thought no.” Alex handed the money over to Piper. “You’re in charge of the money and properties, kid.” 

 

The money was dealt out, and they rolled to goo first. Alex was the person who rolled the highest with a  4. Nick got a 1, and Piper got 2. The game started off and everyone just bought property. 

 

Alex had spent many years playing monopoly. She use to play it with her mother as much as a she could when she was younger, although her mother wasn't around enough to ever finish a game. When Alex became friends with Nicky, the two of them played it a lot. Sometimes Alex’s mom played with them. Alex had gotten really good over the years, and so had Nicky. But what they didn’t know was that Piper use to play all the time with her brothers. 

 

“Ah you know. Screw it, i’m going to buy Short Line.” Nicky said as she threw $200 at Piper. 

 

“Seriously? You do remember what happened last time you went for the railroads, right?” Alex smirked and rolled the dice. “Ohh. Chance.” Alex picked up a chance card and read it out loud.  _Go back 3 spaces._ “Oh shit. Seriously? Okay, how much do I owe you.” She asked Piper. 

 

“Oh lets uh… $28.” 

 

“Well, that’s not horrible I guess…” Alex counted out her money, and handed Piper $28 reluctantly. 

 

Piper smiled. But it wasn’t just a normal smile. It was more like a ‘look at me i’m taking your money’ kind of smile. 

 

The game kept going. Nicky ended up with three of the four railroads, with one still left open to buy. She also had one light blue, and all three of the pink properties. Piper had all three orange properties, and all three yellow properties. She had to keep bugging Alex to trade her for the third yellow property. Alex finally gave in and in return Piper gave her the only red card that had been bought, and her get out of jail free card. Not soon after that trade had been done, Ale ended up buying the rest of the two red properties. 

 

“Shit Alex. You’re taking all out our money! How much property do you need to own?” Nicky whined as she handed over $100. Alex had one house on each of her six properties. She just needed the last light blue card to have three monopolies. 

 

“I need a fuck load. And don’t be complaining, you were the one who wasted your money on those damn railroads.” Alex laughed and gave Nicky $10 in change. 

 

“Okay crap. I’m coming up to your row of green Alex.” Piper said. She closed her eyes and rolled the dice onto the board.  _7_. “one..two.. Three… Oh thank god.” Piper had landed on community chest. She picked up a card.  _Grand Opera Night – collect $50 from every player for opening night seats._  “Okay guys. Pay up.” She laughed. 

 

“Dammit. Why do you two keep doing this to me? You’re killing me Piper.” Nicky said. She managed to pull together $50.

 

Nicky rolled the dice, hoping she didn't land on one of those spaces where you had to pay tax. She kept landing on them. Thankfully, she landed right on go. “Oh fuck yeah.” 

 

Alex rolled the dice, and landed on Reading Railroad. She hesitated for a second. “Okay i’m going to buy it.” She handed the money over to Piper and received the card. 

 

“Man, fuck you.” Nicky said.   
  
Alex just laughed playfully, and handed the dice to Piper. 

 

“Okay you know. Before I go I want to make a trade with you Alex.” Nicky said as Piper handed her the dice. “How about I give you Oriental Ave. and you give me the railroad? Huh?” Nicky picked up the light blue card and waved it in Alex’s face. 

 

“Thank god you were smart enough to do that.” Alex tossed the card over to Nicky, and she received her light blue card. 

 

“Nicky do you have any idea of what you’ve done?” Piper said hitting Nicky on the shoulder. 

 

“Yeah, do you?” Alex said. 

 

“You know what, when I win this game, you’ll be sorry.” Nicky replied. 

 

The game went on for a while longer. Houses and hotels started to appear, and more and more money was lost and earned.   
  
Piper checked her phone and saw an unread text. 

_Todd- hey there. I thought tonight was great. Maybe next time you will come over?_

 

She ignored the text and checked the time.  _12:23_.   
  
“Shit it’s getting late.” Piper said out loud, even though she didn't mean to actually say it. 

 

“You’re welcome to stay over tonight, if you’re able to.” Alex said hoping that Piper would actually say yes. 

 

“Uh. I’ll- Yeah. sure.” Piper knew she should check with her parents, but they wouldn’t have been awake.  _They never checked up on me. Weird._  She thought. 

 

“Epic. We’re gonna have a great time.” Nicky said as she leaned over and gave Piper a pat on the back.

 

Alex didn’t say anything, she just look over and smiled at Piper. She didn’t know this girl well at all, but she was just so drawn to Piper. There was just something about her. 

 

It was almost 1:30. The three of them had ordered another pizza, as they all got starving. 

 

The game was almost finished, as Piper had started to mortgage her properties. Alex wasn’t doing so well either. After Alex and Nicky’s trade, everyone seemed to keep landing on railroads. At first $200 didn’t seem like much, but Nicky never landed on any other the other two’s properties. So she kept gaining money, while the other two lost it. 

 

“Okay this is just pure luck.” Alex said as she mortgaged her last property.  Piper had gotten out just before Alex started to lose money fast. 

 

Nicky just laughed as she counted her money. “Well, look at who just won.” Nicky had a smug look on her face. She was never going to let this win down. 

 

Alex got up and put the two pizza boxes by the front door. She walked back over to the two girls sitting there, looking exhausted. Nicky less than Piper. 

 

“Alright, well I’m wiped. I totally call sleeping on the couch.” Nicky said as she got up and hopped onto the couch beside them. 

 

Piper started to pick up all the property cards and organized them. She put away the money properly. She followed up the board and put everything into the box. She didn’t think she had to clean it up, it was just an instinct. She was normally the one to clean things up, although no one ever seemed to be grateful for it. It had gotten to a point where it was just her thing. 

 

“Thanks for cleaning that up kid.” Alex said looking down at Piper. 

 

Piper looked up and smiled at Alex. “No problem.”   


“If you two wouldn’t mind getting a room, i’d love to catch some Z’s.” Nicky said as she took the blanket from the other end up the couch and spread it over her. 

 

“Sure. Piper you’re able to sleep in my room if you want. Or you can be out here with Nicky.” Ale said as she walked into the kitchen and turned off the lights.   


Piper looked over at Nicky who was pointing towards Alex’s room. 

“I think maybe your room, if that’s okay with you.”   
  
“Yeah sure that’s fine. It’s uh, right through that door, on the left.” Alex pointed towards a small hall. At the end of the hall there was a bathroom. To the left of it was Alex’s room, and to the right her mothers. 

 

“Okay cool.” Piper stood up and turned to Nicky. “Good night Nicky. It’s been good meeting you.” She turned towards the hall and walked down towards Alex’s room.

 

Alex followed shortly, but she went over and hit Nicky on the should.

 

“You’re welcome Alex.” Nicky said as she laughed and held her should.

 

“Goodnight jerk.” Alex replied. 

 

Alex walked into her room and found Piper looking through her CD’s. “Didn’t think you were the type to snoop.” She said as she closed the door behind her. 

 

“Oh I- I wasn’t. Really… I was curious about your music taste.” Piper said as put the CD back on the pile of other CD’s. “You have a nice room.” She said as she looked around.

 

Alex’s room was not that big. There was a small bed in the corner beside the window. There were a few posters in her room. The wall’s were a shade of blue. There were piles of CD’s and books and clothes all over the floor. There was a record player on top of her desk, as well as a swivel chair. 

 

“It’s small I know. When I was smaller this room seemed so big, but since I started growing it just got smaller.” Alex walked over and sat on her bed. “You’re able to sleep in my bed with me. The floor is pretty filled up will all of my shit laying around.”

 

“Yeah okay. Uh I don’t have anything to really wear though.” 

 

“Oh shit. Right. Uh, if you go into the bottom drawer of my desk there should be some sweat pants and a shirt you can wear.” 

 

Piper found some clothes. She went into the bathroom to change. 

 

Not long after she came back into the room. Alex had changed already, and was in her bed reading a book. She looked up Piper when she walked in and just laughed. 

 

“Shut up.” Piper said, shooting her a playful glare. 

 

Alex’s sweat pants were very long that Piper had trouble walking a few feet. The shirt was huge on her too. She managed to make it work, but it still looked kind of ridiculous.

 

Piper slipped into the bed beside Alex. “what are you reading?”

 

“Oh just some crappy book.” She closed the book and put it at the end of the bed. “You look tired.”

 

“I am, very tired. It’s been a long day.” Piper slid down, now fully lying down. 

 

“Well, i’m sure. Todd seemed to be keeping you very busy.” The tone in Alex’s voice seemed a bit harsher then she meant. Alex turned off her reading light and lay down beside Piper. 

 

“Well you seemed to be doing a good job yourself.” Piper replied. 

 

The two of them rolled over onto their sides facing each other. It was quite dark, but they could be feel the other looking back at them.   
  
“Shit. I’m still wearing my glasses.” Alex said as she sat up. “Do you mind putting these on the window ledge?”   


Piper couldn’t really see, but she sat up and reached for Alex’s glasses. She got her hand instead. The two of them stayed their, Piper holding Alex’s hand. They both felt an intense connection. Their hands touching felt right. 

 

_What is this? What am I feeling?_  Piper asked herself. She moved her hand and took the glasses and put it by the window.

 

The two lay back down again.

 

Piper turned over to her side to face Alex again. “This oddly feels right.” She said as she moved closer Alex, resting her head on her shoulder. 

 

It was silent for a while. Alex felt Pipers breathing slow down. She was asleep. Alex on the other hand, lay there wide awake. 

 

  
“Yeah. This feels right.” She whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So let me know what you thought about this chapter! What do you guys think is going to happen, and what would you like to see happen?


	4. Not the hugging type

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I've been busy this week, so i haven't had much time to really do much. But this is a fun chapter. It picks up from last chapter. A little while ago i got a review that asked for a little more angst, and so there is a tiny bit in here... after all, Alex and Piper can't live in "everything is good" land for long.   
> enjoy!

Alex was never one who wanted to be vulnerable. She didn't want to look it. She didn't want to act it. She didn't want to be it. She had grown use to acting like someone who didn't care about what other people think. 

 

Alex had gotten use to being treated so horribly that she knew she couldn't be vulnerable. She got so use to being judged that she got use to peoples judgement, and stopped caring. But even after years of getting use to it, she was still a very vulnerable person. 

 

Alex was someone who was tough, and could hold her own. She didn't take anyone's bullshit.  This is who people see. But that isn't just who she is. She is also a very loving, and kind person.

She had such an image that she never thought that anyone would ever bother to see if there was anything more to her. 

 

Piper had been the only one who had ever bothered to get to know Alex. It was unusual for Alex to even let anyone close to her. All of this was very unusual. But not only had she started to let Piper in, she had let herself be at her most vulnerable around her. She had been willing to go to sleep knowing that beside her was someone she barley knew. 

 

Piper had fallen asleep leaning on Alex's shoulder, but by morning Alex's head was on Pipers chest. Pipers arm was around Alex, her head leaning close to the brunettes. The two of them were both asleep when Alex’s mother came home from work. 

 

Nicky had woken up when she came in. 

 

“Oh shit I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up.” Diane said as she closed the door. It was about  _8:30_  in the morning. 

 

“Its fine. The light was starting to bug me anyway.” Nicky said as she sat up. “You can open the blinds if you would like.”

 

“Maybe in a bit. I’m fucking starving though. I gotta eat.” She walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. She pulled out a few eggs. “What are you doing sleeping on the fuckin’ couch anyway?” 

 

“Right, a friend from Alex’s school came over last night. There were limited sleeping options so, she’s in Alex’s room.”  Nicky got up and walked into the kitchen. She got out a glass, and filled it with water. “You know, I don’t know why I never slept on the couch before anyway.” 

 

“It’s because I always get in so early in the morning.”

 

“Ah right.”

 

The two of them spoke for a while. Diane had made them both eggs. The two of them had gotten to know each other over the years. Nicky spent a lot of time over there even though her own house would be considered a much nicer house. Nicky didn’t find her own house home-y enough, but she found Alex’s apartment extremely home-y. 

 

“Alright, I think i’m going to head home but uh, i’ll probably see you later today.”

 

“I’m sure I will.” 

 

Nicky got up and started to head over to the door when she realized she forgot her phone in Alex’s room. She also couldn’t find her keys, and assumed they were there too. 

 

“I gotta get my phone. Dammit.” Nicky said as she started to make her way towards the hall. 

Diane started to walk towards her room as well. 

 

Nicky opened the door very quietly, trying not to wake either of them up. She peered in and looked over to the desk where she had last seen here phone. She then noticed how the two of them were sleeping.  _Holy shit._ She thought. 

 

She carefully turned around. “Hey Diane. You gotta come see this.” She whispered. 

 

Diane walked out of her room and looked in the room standing behind Nicky. “Holy crap. Are you sure that’s my daughter in there?” she joked. 

 

“I’ve never seen her like this with anyone else. I think some kind of clone took her place.” Nicky said.

 

“Yeah, well this girl better not break her fucking heart.” 

 

“Don’t worry. I already gave her a small speech.” Nicky said as she slowly started to walked into the room. She quickly grabbed her phone from the desk. She looked around for her keys, but couldn’t find them. She was about to leave when she tripped over one of the many books that were on the ground. “Ow fuck.”

 

Alex jolted up at the noise. Piper then sat up; slower then Alex did.  

 

“Nicky?” Alex said as she squinted her eyes to focus her vision better. She moved up to the end up the bed and stood up. She walked over and picked up her glasses and put them on. She turned around and saw Nicky on the floor, and her mother standing in the door way. “What the fuck?”

 

“Hey Alex, maybe you should think about cleaning up your fucking room?” Nicky said as she stood up off the ground. 

 

“Yeah i’ll think about it.” Alex replied. “So what the hell are you two doing anyway?”

 

“Just you know, checking up on ya.” Nicky said. 

 

“Mom?”

 

“Nicky called me over. You and your friend seem to be… close.” Diane said, chuckling a bit.

 

“Oh shit. Right. Piper this is my mom. Mom this is Piper.” 

 

“Hi. I’m sorry this is an awkward first meet.” Piper said as she got up and out of the bed. 

 

“Don’t worry. I’ve met people in more awkward situations than this. I am exhausted though, and need to get some sleep. There were some crazy fuckers at work. It’s nice to meet you Piper.” Diane walked into her room and closed the door behind her. 

 

There was an awkward silence between the three of them, just standing there. Nicky was trying to not laugh at the whole situation. 

 

“So uh, i was about to head home if you need a ride Piper.” Nicky suggested. 

 

“Yeah sure, i better go uh, change quickly. If you don’t mind.”  


“No no go for it.” 

 

Piper got her clothes and then went to the washroom to change, leaving Nicky and Alex alone. 

 

“So you two seemed pretty cosy huh?” Nicky walked over to the bed and sat down. Alex then sat down beside her. 

 

“Shut up.”

 

“I’ll let this whole thing go for now. But I know you, remember that.” 

 

“Did you really just say that? Like you could ever let something go.” Alex joked. 

 

Nicky just smirked. 

 

“So uhm, are you ready to go” Piper said as she walked in. “And where should i put these” She said as she held up the clothes. 

 

“Just put them over by the desk. I’m thinking about cleaning up my room today.”

 

“Alright well, looks like were off!” Nicky jumped up and followed Piper to the main door. 

 

“Fuck.” Alex sighed. She shortly followed the other two girls to the door. 

 

Nicky was leaning against the door as Piper was putting on her shoes. Piper looked up at Alex as she walked over to them, and smiled at her.   
  
“I’m gonna go wait outside. I’ll see you later Vause.” Nicky hugged Alex, even though both of them weren’t really the hugging type. She opened the door and started down the stairs. 

 

Piper stood up. “Last night was fun.”

 

“Yeah. I’m glad i was able to save you from your crap date.” Alex smirked. 

 

“Well thanks for being my hero.” 

 

The two of them stared into each others eyes for what seemed like forever. Alex felt herself slowly leaning in. She could have sworn Piper was too, until she stepped back. 

 

“I’d really like to hangout again sometime.” Piper said. 

 

“Yeah. Me too. And maybe my asshole of a friend wont be there.” She laughed a bit as she said that. 

 

“Nicky is really nice, but seeing as we have a lot of classes together,  i’ll have to get use to you on your own.” 

 

“As long as those jerks you’re friends with don’t become to much of a problem.” 

 

“Right…” Piper looked down. “I better be going now. I’ll see at school though. Really though, I had a lot of fun.” She brushed her hand against Alex’s arm, smiled, and then walked out the door. 

 

Alex watched her walk out, and then closed the door.

 

“shit.” She sighed as she realized that Piper was someone who was going to make a huge impact on her life.

 

* * *

 

The weekend had passed, and it wasn’t very eventful for Alex or Piper. The two of them spent a lot of time texting each other. Alex’s mother had a pretty good idea about who was making Alex smile so much, while Pipers parents really didn’t understand. 

 

The only thing that got Alex out of bed Monday morning was the thought of even just seeing Piper. Alex rolled out of bed around the time her mother got home. She got dressed, brushed her teeth, and headed out the door with her backpack hanging on one shoulder. 

 

Alex got picked up by Nicky. She use to take the bus, but ever since Nicky got her drivers license, she didn’t have to. 

 

“I am so fucking tired. I should have never stayed up until 2am.” Alex said as she got into the passenger seat of the car. 

 

“I hear you. How about we go grab some caffeine before 8 hours of torture.”

 

“Hell yeah I’m in.” 

 

They drove to Nicky's school and parked. They walked over to the cafe that was close to Alex’s school. Nicky ordered a tea, and Alex ordered a coffee. It was 5min to 9. The two went their separate ways. 

 

Alex took her time getting to class. She didn’t really care about weather or not she was early or late. She just knew she should show up at some point. When she got to class she walked to the back of the class room. In almost every class she sat in the back. 

 

The teacher went on and on. Alex payed attention to an extent, but she was never really one who enjoyed science. Alex was one of those students who did almost no work, but managed to pass the class with a fairly high mark. People always hated her for that. 

 

About halfway through the class, the teacher wrote questions on the bored and told everyone to answer them. Alex got out a piece of paper and a pen, but instead of answering the questions, she took out a book and started to read. 

 

The school had a 4 day schedule, where day 1&3 were the same, and day 2&4 were the same. Every other day Alex had class with Piper first period, and third period. On the other day she had class with her second, third, and fourth. Alex wished class was over so she could see Piper. 

 

Alex looked up from her book every now and then to look at the clock. Sometimes she would see people looking at her and talking. She knew they were just trying to get to her, she just laughed because they were doing such a crap job. 

 

After about 30 min of reading, the bell finally rang. Alex put her stuff into her back and got up. On her way to her next class she passed Sarah in the hall who called out “slut” as loudly as she could to get minor attention. Alex walked passed her, walking into her just enough that Sarah almost tripped, but dropped the books she was holding. Alex continued to walk. She turned her head and saw Sarah glaring at her. Alex smirked and then walked into her class. 

 

She went and sat down in her usual spot in the back of the class. Shortly after, Piper entered. Piper walked over and sat down beside Alex.

 

“Hey.” 

 

“Hey.”

 

“I heard you uh, tripped my friend.” Piper said. 

 

“Is that what she said?”

 

“Yeah. I’m sure she deserved it honestly.” 

 

Class started, so neither of them could continue to speak. Piper was enjoying the lesson, but Alex really didn’t seem to care about what was going on. She just continued to read her book. 

 

“You read a lot.” Piper said as she turned towards Alex.

 

“I do yeah. It’s comforting. Besides, I don’t have to deal with people when i read.” 

 

“Oh.” Piper took that more personally then it was intended. 

 

“Not that i don’t want to talk to you or anything. I mean, you know, dealing with just about anyone else.” It was silent for a second. 

 

“Do you want to have lunch with me?” Piper asked. 

 

“Yeah. Yeah for sure.” Alex said as a small smile crossed her face. 

 

The rest of the class went by slowly for the two. They both wanted to get out so they could actually talk without having to whisper. It was times like these that Piper was thankful none of her friends were in this class. 

 

* * *

 

“So wait, you actually believed him when he said that he was a ghost?” Alex asked.

 

“Well yeah, but come on, I was six! He was dressed up as a ghost for halloween…”

 

“Was his costume more than just a white sheet with two holes for eyes?” 

 

Piper had a sheepish look on her face. 

 

“Holy shit. It  _was_  just some kid wearing a sheet over himself.” Alex said as she tried not to laugh too much. 

 

“Shut up. He was fifteen, I was six. Don’t judge me.” 

 

“I’m trying not to judge, but wow. That kid must have been really fucking smart.” 

 

“Ha Ha. I’m sure you would have believe him when you were six.”

 

“You know, i don’t think so.”

 

“Sure. Well next time someone tries to convince you that they are in fact a ghost, don’t come running to me when you believe them.” Piper laughed.

 

The two of them had walked down to the same park that they had gone to that day they had skipped class. They had found a small grassy and shady area to sit under. As much as Piper was fine with being seen with Alex, she didn’t particularly want her friends to see them together. 

 

“So Piper, what makes you want to spend time with me instead of those people you call friends. You know, talk about how well your date with Todd went and all.”

 

“I’ve been friends with them since middle school. They're great and all, but they don’t really know me. I’d like to spend time with someone who does.”

 

“And so you think I know you?”

 

“Not at all, but who says you cant get to know me?” Piper moved her hand and found Alex’s. They sat there looking into each others eyes for a while.

 

 Piper was so unsure of what she was feeling towards this girl. These feelings were scary, and she didn’t know why they were. Was it because Alex is a girl? Or was it because she had never felt this with anyone else before? She didn’t know. She just knew that she was scared, and that lead her to go back to what she felt more comfortable with. 

 

Piper suddenly shifted the topic of conversation. “But you know, the more i think of it, the more i realize my date with Todd wasn’t all that bad. It was mainly just Sarah getting in the way. Sure Todd said he only really wanted to sleep with me, but I would by lying if i said that I didn’t want to do it with him. So.. you know.” 

 

Alex got noticeably uncomfortable with the topic change. She pulled her hand out from under Pipers, put her knees up, and hugged her legs. She rested her head on her knees, her eyes still visible. 

 

Piper noticed how uncomfortable Alex got. She noticed that she had blocked herself off. “I’m sorry, i didn’t. We don’t have to talk about this.” 

 

“It’s fine. Fuck, I should be use to it by now.”

 

Piper didn’t fully understand what she meant by this, but she had an idea. “You know, my night would have sucked if it weren’t for you.”

 

“Yeah I’m sure it would have been horrible having to go over to this guys house and fuck him.” Alex snapped. 

 

Piper looked shocked, and slightly hurt by Alex’s words. She stood up, and grabbed her bag. She was about to walk away when Alex grabbed Piper by the wrist.   
  
“Wait fuck I’m sorry. I didn’t mean- I’m sorry.”   
  
Piper turned to face Alex, who looked extremely apologetic. Alex looked hurt by her own words. 

 

“I’m sorry, Piper.”

 

“It’s okay. I shouldn’t have spoken about that. I just thought-“

 

“I suck at talking about that kind of shit. But I don’t want to not talk to you, so i’ll work on that.”

 

Piper smiled and pulled Alex in, giving her a hug. 

 

 

Alex was not a person who particularly liked hugs. But with Piper? She never wanted to let go. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So let me know your thoughts on what happened! Is there anything you guys would like to see?


	5. Popcorn and horror movies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I've been itching to get this chapter out. It is probably my favourite chapter. I like doing these kind of fluffy chapters, but it does get angst-y in the next few chapters. But in the meantime I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

 

_Halloween night._

"Okay how much fucking popcorn do we nee Vause? There's only two of us." Nicky said as she watched Alex take microwave popcorn out of her bag.

"Uh- Actually there's going to be three of us… I invited Piper. Is that cool?"

"Oh yeah. Yeah for sure."

The door bell rang shortly after. Nicky answered the door. "Hey Piper. You found your way here."

"Uhm yeah. Hi. I hope you don't mind me coming, Alex invited me and i thought-"

"It's no problem. Come on in." Nicky opened the door wider, and singled for Piper to come in.

Nicky pointed towards various rooms in the house before leading Piper downstairs into the basement. "Alex will be down in a second. She's getting the popcorn ready." She flopped down on the couch in front of the big TV.

Piper stood beside the couch awkwardly. She didn't really know what to do. It was one of those 'i'm new in your house and I don't know what to do' moments.

"I truly hope you do not intend to spend the new few hours standing like that." Nicky said.

"Right uhm. Should I just- here." She pointed to the arm of the couch beside her.

"Sit your ass down on the couch Piper. It's not going to hurt." Alex said as she walked into the room, holding two big bowls of popcorn. She walked past Piper, putting the two bowls on the table in front of the couch, and then sat down beside Nicky.

Piper stayed where she was.

Nicky turned on the TV. She had already loaded the first movie. "Okay so this year I thought we would do a whole 'original vs remake' and I thought The Grudge would be a perfect movie."

"You ever seen it Pipes?" Alex asked.

"I haven't no. I don't really watch a lot of horror movies. I was never really allowed too."

The movie screen loaded. Nicky hit the light beside her, turning it off. Alex grabbed Piper by the wrist, pulling her onto the couch. Piper ended up half on the couch, half on Alex.

Alex put her arm around Piper, who settled on the couch and rested her head on Alex.

They started with the remake of The Grudge. Within the first five minute of the movie, the three of them got scared. Nicky hid her eyes behind a blanket, while Alex and Piper hid behind each other.

During the clam parts of the movie, they all relaxed and ate popcorn. It got to a calm part of the movie, and the three started talking.

"So what is your opinion on Sarah Michelle Gellar?" Nicky asked.

"I think she's hot." Alex replied.

"Seriously? I get how she looked good as Buffy, but I don't know. I never really saw it." Nicky said.

"Weirdo" Alex threw a piece of popcorn at Nicky. It hit her in the face.

Nicky picked up a handful of popcorn and threw it in Alex and Piper's direction. Alex laughed and threw more popcorn.

Piper wasn't paying attention to anything that was happening beside her. She was too busy paying attention to what was going on in the film. She found it very confusing.

"What about you Piper?" Nicky asked as she threw popcorn at her face.

"What?" Piper snapped out of her concentration.

"Sarah Michelle Gellar, Do you think she's hot?" Nicky asked again.

Alex looked over to Piper and smirked, curious to hear the answer.

"Uh, I don't know. She's very pretty, but I'm not sure I find her hot." Piper answered.

"Ha. Well, look who sided with me?" Nicky said as she nudged Alex.

The three of them were interrupted by a loud scream coming from the movie.

"Fuck. That was terrifying." Alex said.

The three of them continued to watch the movie. There were some scary moments, but by the middle of it, it got less scary. They all started tentatively at the screen. They were all quiet for the rest of the movie.

While they were watching, Piper would occasionally look over to Alex. She would watch her. She would look at how Alex reacted to what was on screen. She would study Alex. Then she would look back to the screen. Whenever Piper wasn't looking at her, Alex would do the same thing.

Nicky sometimes looked over at the two. Nicky smirked a bit every time she was Alex looking at Piper. She was happy that Alex had actually found someone. Weather or not that someone would be a friend, or more, she didn't know. Nicky was just happy what her friend was happy.

Alex was never a relationship person. Nicky had known her since grade 3, and never once had Alex ever been this interested in someone.

The movie had ended, and Nicky turned on the lights. The light hit everyones eyes, and they all squinted and tried to hide from the light. Nicky got up to switch the dvd.

"So what'd you two think?" Nicky asked.

"I thought it was good. Although I got really fucking confused about 20 minutes in." Alex replied.

"I didn't think it was scary enough honestly." Piper said.

"Seriously? You seemed pretty damn scared to me." Alex said as she stood up, and walked into the washroom.

"Not scary enough huh? I guess that's cause you could look away. This one has subtitles, can't look away or else you'll miss something." Nicky said as she sad back down on the couch.

"Okay fine. It was really scary, but the noise it makes got kind of dull." Piper replied as she stretched her legs out on the couch.

"Ah. Right." There was a small break in conversation, before Nicky brought up the thing she really wanted to know about. "So you and Alex seem to be getting real close huh?"

"Uhm, yeah actually. We have."

"She seems pretty fond of you."

Piper seemed interested in what Nicky had to say. She sat up a bit, looking very curious. "Yeah? What makes you say that?"

"Trust me, I know her." Nicky said as threw a piece of popcorn at her.

"Were not throwing popcorn again, are we?" Alex said as she walked back into the room.

"Maybe." Piper threw a piece at Alex, but miss by a long shot.

Alex laughed and sat down on the couch.

The three of them for settled to watch the second movie. It was getting quite late and they were getting tried. Nicky realized that she probably should have chosen the one with subtitles first. But it was too late.

They were about 30 minutes into the movie when Piper started to doze off. She was so close to actually falling asleep when her phone buzzed in her pocked. She opened then message.

_Kathryn- YOO PIPER. YOU'RE MISSING Out on one hell of a party here. Where the hell are you at?_

_Piper- At a friends house. Don't have too much fun there._

She closed her phone, hoping that her friend wouldn't reply. Of course about 5 minutes later she replied.

_Kathryn- Friend? All your friends are here._

_Piper- Yeah. My friend Alex._

Piper rolled her eyes at her friends comment. She really wasn't in the mood to have her mood killed by some asshole.

"Everything okay? You look kind of frustrated." Alex asked quietly.

"Yeah, it's just my friend texting me."

They continued to watch the film. It was a lot more confusing then the remake was. It took all of them a while to actually realize that there were separate stories in the movie.

"Ohhh I get it now. They're all different stories that all have to do with people getting killed by the same evil paranormal monster demon thing." Piper said out loud as she finally figured it out.

" _Paranormal monster demon thing_?" Alex replied.

"Shut up." She nudged Alex.

The movie continued and they all watched. At some point it seemed as if they all got a second wind and were wide awake. That didn't last long, because within the last 15 minutes of the movie, they were all falling asleep on each other.

Nicky was leaning on the couch, a pillow by her head. Alex was leaning on Nicky, and Piper was leaning on Alex.

About two months ago, Nicky would have never thought that things would be like this. She thought that this would be their normal halloween night, just the two of them. But it wasn't.

Two months ago Alex never would have thought she would be enjoying her new school. She never would have thought she would be friends with someone like Piper, but she was. And she was so glad things weren't how she pictured ages ago.

Piper never would have thought this was how she would be spending halloween two months ago. She thought she would be out at some halloween party where everyone was wearing very revealing clothes. She even hoped that she would go to the part with Todd or someone. But instead she was watching horror movies at someone she doesn't know all that well's house.

The three of them had all fallen asleep at 12:00 on a Saturday night.

* * *

It was about 2:30am when Alex woke up. Sat up, and readjusted her glasses. She looked around in the dark, and noticed that Piper wasn't there. She looked over to Nicky who was fast asleep. Nicky really loved her sleep.

Alex got up, grabbed her sweater, and walked upstairs. She had no idea where Piper would be, but she hoped that she didn't leave.

When she got upstairs the temperature got noticeably colder. Alex walked to the kitchen/dining room area, where the back door was. The door was open.

"Piper?" Alex said with a questioning tone. She walked out and saw her sitting on the stairs leading down to the yard.

"Alex?" Piper replied as she turned around and saw her walking towards her.

"What the hell are you doing out it? It's freezing." She sat down beside Piper.

"I had a bad dream. Guess this is why I never watched horror movies."

"Maybe next time we will watch a crappier one. Horror movies are surprisingly fun to make fun of.

You're freezing." Alex said as she took of her sweater and gave it to Piper.

"It's gotten cooler. What will you do to stay warm if I have this?" Piper asked.

"I'll be fine, really."

Piper put it on. She out her arm around Alex's waist, and the two moved closer together.

"So what's the with you and Nicky? How long have you guys been friends?"

"We met in grade 3. She was friends with this bitch, Jessica Wedge. Jessica would always bully me, and one time when she tripped me I fell and scrapped my knee pretty bad. Nicky helped me clean it up. After that we started to become friendly."

"Wait. She bullied you, and then you two became friends?" Piper questioned.

"Nicky was never mean to me. In fact, whenever Jessica and her friends would come up to me, she always looked uncomfortable about what was going on."

"And you guys have been friends for a long time then, huh?"

"We have, yeah." Alex lifted her glasses off of her face, and rested them on her head.

Piper looked up at her, smiled, and laughed a bit.

"What?" Alex asked with a confused tone.

"Nothing. I just really like that thing you do, with your glasses."

Alex smiled and raised an eye brow. "Really?"

Their eyes had adjusted enough that they were actually able to see each other clearly. Piper noticed something she hadn't noticed before, and that was the way Alex made her feel when she did those small actions. Those trade mark Alex Vause things. Piper loved the way Alex played with her glasses. And the way Alex raised an eye brow was so enticing to her. And the smirk Alex does when she knows how she's made you feel made, when she know's what she's doing. In this moment, Piper feels something she's never really felt before.

"Yeah. I do." She replied.

"What else do you like about me?" Alex said as she smirked.

There it was. Alex knew exactly what she was doing, and she knew how well she could do it.

"I like you." Piper said as she rested her head in Alex's shoulder.

What Piper meant by that, Alex didn't know. But she did know that hearing those three words made Alex feel amazing. She didn't realize how she has never heard anyone other than Nicky say those words to her. She wasn't even 100% sure the Nicky had said that before.

Alex laughed a bit, and rested her head on Pipers. "I never asked, but what was your nightmare about anyway?"

"Oh right. It's kind of all fuzzy now. I can't really remember much except that it was scary enough for me to wake up."

"Geez. Sounds like it was awful."

"Do you normally remember your dreams? Because I don't, but the one's that I do remember are still pretty vivid."

"The only one's I remember are the bad ones. I use to have nightmares all the time when I was younger."

"You? Nightmares?" Piper questioned. Alex didn't seem like someone who would ever have a nightmare.

"Hard to believe huh?"

"Sort of yeah, actually. What did you have nightmares about?"

"Uhm… I think that's something for another day." Alex said as she moved over, causing Piper to sit up. "It's really fucking late. Do you think you'd be able to get to sleep?"

"As long as you're there, I'm sure I will."  _Am I flirting with her? How long have I been acting this way around her?_ Piper thought as she stood up and walked into the house. Alex followed, closing the door behind her.

"Jesus fuck its cold."Alex said, crossing her arms.

"Do you want your sweater back?" Piper said pointing to the sweater that she was wearing.

"No, it's fine. It's warmer downstair."

The two of them walked through the dark house into the basement. Alex remembered that no one actually did turn off the TV, so she went over and turned it off.

Nicky was fast asleep when they came down. Alex didn't really know where the two of them should sleep.

"Uh do you want to sleep on the floor? I can sleep on the couch with Nicky…" Alex said.

"I can sleep on the couch if you would like. Your tall, and I don't think that would be very comfortable for you." Piper walked over to the couch and lay down, putting a pillow underneath her head.

"Sure." Alex walked over to the wall that the TV was on, and lay down on the ground. Alex was about to close her eyes when a pillow flew over and hit her. "Ow." She sat up.

"You can't just sleep on the floor with no pillow. Or blanket." Piper whispered.

"Thanks. I should be okay though." She lay back down.

"Goodnight Alex." Piper said as she closed her eyes.

"Night Piper."

* * *

Nicky was the first one to wake up in the morning. She sat up, looked around, and got extremely confused.

"Why the fuck is she on the floor?" she mumbled.

She slowly got up off of the couch and walked upstairs. Shortly after she had gotten up, she heard someone walk up the basement stairs.

Nicky was in the kitchen grabbing a glass of water. She walked over and looked down the hall to see Piper standing in the middle of the hall.

"Hey Piper. You lost?" Nicky asked.

"Uh, not really. I just wasn't sure where you would be." She walked over to the kitchen. "Your house is so big. It wouldn't be hard to get lost in here." Piper had only seen the basement and the kitchen. She passed a living room and dining room, but never looked in them fully. The house was big on the outside, and so she knew it would have to be big on the inside too.

"I spend most of my time here, or in my room. I've pretty much perfected the route. I got lost in here once." Nicky eyed Piper and then smirked. She then laughed to herself.

Piper didn't really understand what she did to cause this reaction. She just shrugged it off.

"My dad is sort of freaking out right now, so I really need to go." She said as she pointed towards the door.

"Alright." Nicky showed her to the door.

"Also, I want to say thank you, for being so cool with me being here. I know this was always your and Alex's thing and I kind of interrupted that."

"It's fine Piper. I wasn't expecting you to come, but you're fun to be around. Next time your over here, you don't have to be as awkward." She smiled and watched Piper walked out the door and wave goodbye.

On the way home Piper kept thinking back to the conversation her and Alex had had last night. She was so tired at that time that she couldn't really remember if that actually happened. But when she realized that she was wearing Alex's sweater, she knew every bit of it was real.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd love to hear your guys' thoughts on this chapter! :)


	6. What a busy night Pt1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been reading the reviews for this story, and I just want to say thank you! I'm so happy that you guys are enjoying this story! It's comments like yours that keep me wanting to continue writing!
> 
> This chapter sort of a sets up for the next two chapters. I am leaving for a week on Tuesday, so I plan to post one more chapter before I leave on Monday.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy chapter 6!

 

"Yeah alright Julie. I'll see you when you get back." Nicky yelled from her room. She rolled her eyes and watched out the window as her mother got into an airport car.

Her mother was leaving for about 2 weeks to go visit her husband in Florida. He had to go to a conference meeting there, and decided to stay there for longer then intended.

Nicky's parents were rich. Very, very rich. She lived in a giant house in one of the most expensive neighbourhoods in the city. Her parents bought her an extremely expensive car the second she turned 16. They hoped it would make her want to get her license as soon as she could, which she did.

"Well, look's like I'm going to be alone for the next few weeks." She said to herself.

She was sue to being alone. Her parents went away often. Her father was the CEO for a big company, and he would always be going somewhere for some meeting. Nicky's mother normally went with him, but occasionally would stay.

It was a Thursday and Nicky had no intention to go to school. She had hated school quite a bit, but this year was worse. She didn't have her best friend there with her. She didn't have Alex.

Although the two of them saw each other a lot, things didn't seem the same. The more Piper and Alex spent time together, the less her and Alex spent together. A part of Nicky was worried that she was going to lose Alex to Piper.

Nicky liked Piper, and she actually quite liked hanging out with her. She just stated to feel like a major third wheel.

She had her own friends though. She had people who she could hangout with and didn't mind, but they weren't available a whole lot. They would all go away to Europe and when they got back they would spend all their time doing school work.

Nicky spent most of her day at home. She watched a lot of TV and spent a lot of time on her computer. She normally had a lot more to do, but she didn't feel like doing anything.

Thursday passed and Friday came. Nicky had nothing better to do than to go to school. She texted Alex a bit through out the day. School was almost over, and Nicky really didn't feel like going home to her big, empty house.

_Nicky- You want to come over tonight? I feel like i've been missing out on just us time._

* * *

"Dammit I forgot to bring you your sweater. Again." Piper said as the two of them left class together.

"Did you forget it or do you just not want to give it back?" Alex replied.

"I'll give it back. Why don't you come over to my place tonight?"

"Uh, yeah sure."

The two of them were on their way to Piper's locker when they passed Sarah and Kathryn, along with a few other of Piper's friends. They all just gave Piper and Alex a judgemental look, and continued walking.

"So I take it they're not cool with us being friends, huh?" Alex asked.

"Not really no." Piper said as she tried to open her locker.

"Shit. I'm sorry, I fucked that up didn't I?"

"I think it was more my fault. I blew them off the other day. They'll get over it"

"Sure, okay." Alex took out her phone and opened her unread message from Nicky.

_Alex- Shit I can't tonight. Going over to Pipers. I'm sure you would be able to come over too._

Alex felt sort of bad about blowing off Nicky. Again. But she figured she would make it up to her over the weekend. She put her phone back into her pocket, and continued with her conversation with Piper.

* * *

_Nicky- nah it's fine. I'll see you later._

Nicky threw her phone onto her bed. She sat back in her chair and sighed. "Of course you're with Piper."

A few hours passed and she started to get really really bored. "Fuck it" she said as she got out her fake I.D and headed out the door.

She went to a bar that was fairly close to her house. She always went there whenever she needed to get something off her mind. Thankfully Nicky looked older then she was already, so it wasn't hard to actually fool the people working there.

When she got there it was quite busy. She ordered a drink and sat there alone.

"Hey, do you mind if I sit here?" A voice said.

Nicky turned around to see a girl standing beside her. She had long brown, wavy hair, and a warm smile.

"Uh yeah. Go for it." Nicky replied.

The girl ordered a drink and saturated talking to Nicky.

The two of them spoke for a while. They got along quite well, and Nicky could totally tell that this girl was not over 18.

"So what are you doing here, alone, on a Friday night?" this girl asked.

"No where else to go I guess." Nicky replied.

"Ah."

"What about you?"

"My boyfriend and I broke up, and I just found myself here."

"I'm sorry. That sucks, although you don't look particularly sad."

"I'm not. I'm just kind of angry. He was always such an asshole and I swear he was cheating on me."

"Oh. Well, i'm still sorry." Nicky said as she held up her glass. "How about we drink to getting away from assholes like him."

"Hell yeah." She held up her glass and hit it against Nicky's.

"I'm sorry, but I never got your name." Nicky said.

"Oh right. My names Jess." she said.

"I'm Nicky."

"So Nicky, seems like you're angry at someone. Care to explain?"

"It's nothing. I'm just having issues with a friend, but you know. It's really nothing I should be angry about."

"Right."

"This is just an observation, but you've got a fake, right?"

"You mean my I.D?" Jess said as she made sure no one was paying attention. "How'd you know?"

"I just do." Nicky replied.

"Right. Well is it safe to say you have one too?"

"Maybe." Nicky smirked.

"Do you want to maybe get out of here?" Jess asked.

"My house is pretty close if you'd like to come back there." Nicky said. She totally knew where she wanted to take things with this girl. She really wanted a distraction, and this girl seemed like she could be very distracting.

"What are we doing here then?"

The two of them payed, and then left.

* * *

Alex had never been over to Piper's house, and she wasn't really prepared for what she was heading in to. They had been there since after school, and Alex wasn't horribly surprised with what it was like.

"Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck." Piper said as she watched her player fly off the screen. Her, Alex, and Piper's brother Cal were all play Super Smash Bro's Brawl on their Wii.

Alex had never been one who liked to play video games, but so far, she was enjoying playing this one.

"Crap. I'm so confused. Who am I again?" Alex asked while trying to figure out which player she was controlling.

"Aren't you pickachu?" Piper said.

"No, i'm pikachu. Alex I think you're Falco." Cal said.

"Who?"

"The falcon who is currently about to fall of the edge."

"Oh shit." Alex said as she moved her player back away from the edge. Seconds later he was falling off the edge. "Dammit Pipes. You are going to regret that."

"Ha. Good luck." Piper teased.

"Shit. I just died again." Alex said putting her remote down. Her player was out of lives.

"Don't worry Alex. I'll win this for you." Cal said as he attacked Piper's player.

The three of them played for ages. Alex slowly got better, and always had a smug look whenever she killed Piper's player. It took age's for Alex to actually win a game. But she only won one.

"Dinner!" Piper's mom yelled.

"Aw man I was just about to win again." Alex whined as she put down the controller.

"I'm sure another chance to kick my ass will come up." Piper said.

The three of them entered the dining room. Piper and Alex sat down beside each other. Cal sat across from the two, while Piper's parents sat on one end of the table.

"This smell's great mom." Piper said as she reached over to scoop up some of the macaroni and cheese.

"It's just macaroni and cheese dear, nothing that special." Carol Chapman said.

They all go took a serving and started to eat. There wasn't a lot of conversation going on, as they were all too busy eating.

"So Alex, how come i've never heard of you until this year?" Carol asked.

"I'm new to the school."

"Oh."

Awkward conversation like that continued for a while. Alex could see on both of Piper's parents face's that they weren't exactly fond of her. The more Alex spoke, the more aware she got of what she was saying. She wanted Piper's parents to like her.

After a long and awkward dinner, both Alex and Piper cleaned up dinner. They took all of the plates and letter over food into the kitchen.

"Dammit I got food all over me." Alex said as she looked at her food stained shirt. She was wearing a black v-neck shirt, so a food stain wouldn't be that noticeable. "I have my other shirt that I was wearing, I'm going to go change into that."

"Sure, I think you left it in the front hall. You can change in my room if you want."

"All right cool. I'll be back."

Alex walked into the front hall and found her red and black plaid shirt she was wearing earlier. She took and walked upstairs into Piper's room. Piper had given her a full on tour of her house when they first got there, so Alex was pretty confident that she went into the right room.

She closed the door behind her and changed her shirt. Before leaving she noticed a picture frame on the chest of drawers by the door. In it was a young blonde, and a young brunette. Alex smiled at the sight of a young Piper.  _Who is she with?_  Alex thought. She first assumed it was Sarah, but then realized that there was no way that was Sarah.

Alex opened the door and walked out, heading back to the living room where Piper said she would be. She got out her phone and checked her messages. "fuck" she said under her breath. She knew she should go over to Nicky's house. She felt bad enough that she said no after not having spent much time together, and now she just felt worse. Alex knew she had to go over there.

"Hey Piper, I think I better go. I think I need to spend some time with Nicky." Alex said as she stood in the door frame of the living room.

"Oh sure yeah." Piper got up and showed Alex to the door. Alex stepped outside, Piper following her. She closed the door behind them.

"Before I go, i'm curious. Who was that girl in the picture with you? The one in your room?" Alex asked.

"That's my friend Polly. She moved away years ago, and we haven't spoken much since."

Alex didn't have any idea as to what she should say. She had a sympathetic look on her face, but didn't say anything more.

It was silent for a while as the two stood and stared in to each others eyes.

"I gotta go. I'll talk to you later though." Alex said as she started to walk away.

"Wait." Piper yelled.

She turned around and raised an eyebrow "Yeah?"

"Alex I-" She stopped. "Uh. Never-mind. Bye." Piper opened up the door and walked in. She gave Alex a small smile before closing the door.

Alex was confused as to what had just happened. She was kind of hoping Piper was going to say something that had to do with them, and how she feels, but she realized that she would probably never know.  _There is no way I actually have a crush on her… right?_  She thought to herself.

The whole way to Nicky's house she kept thinking about the possible things Piper could have said. She kept imagining how it would have played out. Negative or positive, Alex thought about what could have happened.

"Fuck I just need to know what she way going to say." She said loudly as she got onto the bus.

* * *

"Are you sure I don't know you?" Jess asked between kisses.

"I"m pretty sure i'd remember you." Nicky replied.

The two of them were in a heavy make-out session when the doorbell rang.

"Aw fuck." Nicky said as she pulled away.

"You sure you can't just leave it?"

"I better answer just in case."

Nicky walked down the hall and down the stairs towards the front door. Jess followed her.

"Alex, hey!" Nicky said opening the door for her to walk in.

Jess appeared and walked up and stuck out her hand for Alex to shake. "Hi."

"Alex, this is Jess. We were just uh- Here."

Alex didn't shake her hand. She looked over to Nicky, and then back to Jess. After all these years, she could still remember what she looked like. She recognized the voice.

"Yeah we know each other." Alex said with an edge to her voice.

"We do?"

"You do?"

"What the fuck is she doing here, Nicky. What the fuck?" Nicky flinched at Alex's harsh tone. She had never seen Alex this angry at someone before.

"Oh my god. Your Alex Vause." Jess said.

"This is Jessica fucking Wedge." Alex yelled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooh a cliffhanger... I like cliffhangers...  
> Get ready for the next chapter!


	7. What a busy night Pt2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm leaving tomorrow to go to LA. I will try my best to update it throughout the week, but that may be hard. BUT i do have two 5 hour plane rides to get some good writing done.  
> Anyway I hope you enjoy Pt 2!

 

"Now can you tell me what the fuck she was doing here Nicky?" Alex's tone was full of anger.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know it was her!"

"Of course you didn't. Fuck. It's not like she made your life a living hell."

Nicky looked down. She knew what Jessica had done to Alex. She knew how hard it was for Alex to even speak about what happened. "Alex I'm truly sorry. You can't really blame me…"

"What? I can't blame you? Did you just fucking say that? Of course you are to blame for almost fucking her."

"Well maybe I wouldn't have been in the same fucking bar as her if you hadn't ditched me for Piper!" Nicky yelled.

"Seriously? You're going to bring Piper into this? What, are you jealous or something?"

"No I'm not fucking jealous of you two, in fact I'm really fucking happy you found someone else who can deal with your fucking shit. I'm pissed off because you are completely ditching me for this girl, and why? I mean, what's with you guys anyway. You act like you're dating, but you only ever think of each other as friends. So maybe deal with your shit with her, and also remember you have other friends."

Alex was too angry to really take in what Nicky had said. Sure heard it, and thought about it for about two seconds, but she couldn't focus on it. "Fuck you."

"Well fuck you too. Now get the fuck out of my house." Nicky said as she pointed towards the door.

Alex was being kicked out of her best friends house, just like Jessica was only moments ago. She was being treated like her. She was being treated as if she was someone who was hated.

She turned around, opened the door, and walked out.

Nicky slammed the door. She slid down it onto the ground and put her hands over her face and cried. She cried and cried. This was the biggest fight that the two had ever had. Nicky knew she fucked up, but how could she have known it was Jessica Wedge?

"I should have fucking known!" Nicky yelled.

The worst part about this was that Nicky was all alone. She would be all alone for two weeks.

_We've been friends almost our whole lives. We can't just end a friendship because of this, now can we?_

All night Nicky cried. The same thought's crossing her mind. She had to make this right. She needed Alex.

* * *

"So Piper. What the hell was that?" Cal asked as the two of them sat in their basement. Piper watching Cal play his soccer game on the PS3.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing it's just that you and Alex seem pretty close…"

"It's nothing. We're just friends! I mean, sure she's gorgeous and sure she's gay, but i'm still straight. Right?" This was the first time that Piper had ever really thought to question her sexuality.  _I know I like boys, but is there a chance I like girls too? Or maybe it's just Alex who I like. Wait- Who said anything about me liking Alex? Oh shut up Piper._ Her thought's were starting to race.

"Look Piper, I don't want to be the one to tell you how to feel, but it seems pretty clear that she like's you."

"It is?" A smile crossed her face.

"It was to me. Mom and dad on the other hand… they seemed more focused on disliking Alex."

"You are so young. How are you this smart?" Piper said as she rustled his hair.

"I'm not that young. I'm two years younger than you!."

The two of them sat there for a while. Cal focusing on his game, and Piper stuck in her thoughts.

_I mean. What if this whole thing started because I was attracted to her? What if I've always want to be more then friends, but didn't really realize it? No that's ridiculous. But is it?_

Piper kept questioning herself. She was so unsure of how she felt. She didn't feel like she could even trust herself.

_What if I am interested in her, and she doesn't feel the same way?_

"What made it seem like she liked me?" I blurted out.

"Just subtle things. The way she looked at you. How she touched you any chance she could. Oh and probably how she lifted up her glasses to talk to you. I think that was a pretty big sign."

_Alex and her damn glasses. Always playing with them. I swear she knows that it really turns people on when she does that._

"She does that with everyone... The whole glasses thing."

"Sure. But she does it with you a lot more."

"Would it matter to you if I did like girls?" Piper was fairly sure of the answer, but she kind of needed something to reassure herself that it was fine.

"Of course it's fine." It was silent for a few minutes. Cal paused his game and looked over to Piper. "Do you like her?"

"I mean, as a friend of course. I've never really thought about if I like her in a more intense way..." That was a lie. Piper had thought about it a lot.

"Why are you so afraid to even think about these feelings?"

"What kind of 14 year old are you?" Piper laughed.

"One who notices a lot. And come one, you're my sister. Now answer my question,"

"I don't know why I'm scared. I guess I just don't want to ruin this? And I'm also scared that she won't feel the same way..."

"Oh. So you do like her?"

"I guess I do... Yeah." It finally hit Piper. She does like this girl. In fact, she likes her quite a lot. But it just brings back the same question,  _were they ever really just friends in the first place?_

Cal un-pasued his game and comminuted playing. "So what are you doing here?"

"What?"

"Go confess your undying love for her or something."

"I'm not sure love is really the word to be used here..."

"Whatever. Go to her. If dad asks I'll cover for you."

"Thanks." Piper gave Cal a quick hug before leave. She raced upstairs, put on her shoes and raced out the door.

_What the fuck am I doing?_

* * *

The whole way home Alex tried not to make it look like anything was nothing her. She tried to act as cool and unbothered as she ever has. She didn't particularly care about what other people thought, but she cared about how she seemed to herself in public.

She had hoped her mother would be gone by the time she got home, so she could be all alone when Alex walked through the door though, she smelled food.

"Mom?"

"Oh hey."

"What are you doing here? Why aren't you at work?"

"Someone fucked up the schedule for today, but it actually worked to my benefit for once."

"Oh. Okay," Alex was about to head into her room whenever her mother stopped her.

"What's wrong honey?"

"Nothing. Everything's good." Alex avoided eye contact because she knew her mother knew her too well.

"Bullshit. Come into the kitchen and talk to me. What's wrong?"

Alex reluctantly walked into the kitchen after her mother. She sat down on one of the two chairs that were there. From the time she got home to now, she got progressively sadder. You could see how upset she looked.

"I know you want to tell me." Diane said as she put her hand on Alex's shoulder. "I'm going to continue making this soup, and you can talk to me when you want." You could tell the she was trying to subtly hint to talk about it now.

"I had a fight with Nicky."

"Well you two have fought before, what makes this different?"

"It's because she was about to fuck Jessica Wedge."

"Seriously? I didn't think either of you should take 'fuck Jessica Wedge' so literally." A small smirk crossed her face. She found it quite amusing.

"Yeah well fuck both of them. She knows how much shit there is there. How the fuck could she do that?"

"She's a teenage fucking girl. Look, Alex I know how much this must hurt, but you always get a little hot-headed sometimes. Cool off and take a fucking break from all this drama you hate."

It was silent for awhile. Alex sat and thought about what had all happened. She thought about what Nicky had said.  _So maybe deal with your shit with her, and also remember you have other friends._

"What's the date today?" Alex asked suddenly.

"It's the 7th today. Why?"

_Fuck. Yesterday was the day Nicky's mother leaves for two weeks. Fuck._

"She had no one. She has no one and I wasn't there for her because I was with fucking Piper. Fuck!" Alex said as she stood up. "I need to get some air.." Alex said as she walked over to the front door putting on her shoes. She opened the door and left.

_What shit with Piper? What the fuck does that even mean?_  Alex thought to herself.

Alex was angry. She was furious at herself; At this whole situation.

"I can't blame her for not recognizing her… she looks… different." she said to herself. Alex lay on the roof of the building. There was a maintenance door the lead onto the roof, where there was a cement floor. Alex had a special spot there. There was this part the was risen up on an angle that she would lay on. She was able to see the rest of the neighbourhood, as well as part of the city skyline.

This was her favourite spot. Whenever she needed time to herself she would go up there. She liked her room, and she was alone a lot, but she found it peaceful. She wasn't just alone in an empty apartment, but she was alone outside.

Alex was use to being treated badly, but the fact that she could hurt someone else didn't settle right with her. She knew she could be a real bitch to people, but she never thought she would hurt one of the two people who meant the world to her.

_I could never hurt the two people in my life who mean the most to me… or wait- three people?_

Her thoughts went back to Piper until she stopped herself.

_No. this is what she was talking about. I spend too much time with Piper. Thinking about her, that I forget about Nicky._

Everything that had happened tonight made Alex feel so many emotions. All she could really do was cry. That was the only reaction she had to these emotions. Her eyes started to water a bit when she heard someone come onto the roof.

"Alex?"

Alex sat up and turned towards the door where she was Piper standing there. "Oh hey. How'd you know I was here?"

"Your mom told me."

"Right…"

Piper walked over to Alex and sat beside her. She had no idea what she was going to say. The second she saw Alex she lost all of her words and thoughts. Piper then noticed that Alex didn't look particularly happy. "Is everything okay?"

She didn't say anything. She just looked down at the ground and shook her head the slightest bit.

Piper moved closer to Alex and put her arm around her. There were no real words to be said, as Piper knew that Alex wasn't someone who liked to talk about things like this. She always wanted to seem so put together.

After a few minutes of silence Alex finally spoke up. "So what are you doing here anyway?"

"I uh, wanted to tell you something I think…" She looked away.

"Yeah? And that is?"

Piper was about to speak when Alex's phone lit up. She opened up the message that was from Nicky.

_Nicky- Alex please. We really need to talk about this. I can't stand this._

Alex started to look even more upset. Piper noticed but wasn't sure she should say anything. She didn't even know what to say.

_Alex- Fuck you._

She had no idea why she said that to Nicky.  _I'm not even that mad about this anymore, why the fuck did I say that?_

Things were really getting to Alex right now. She felt so many things, and at some point she knew she was just going to blow up at someone. Weather it would be angry, or sad, or both, she didn't know.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Piper asked calmly.

"Nicky and I had a huge fight… And I keep fucking this up even more."

"Oh…" Pipers phone then buzzed. The message was from Todd. The two of them hadn't really spoken since their date. Todd would text Piper a lot, but she would rarely respond.

_Todd- Do you want to go out again? :)_

Piper felt bad because each time he asked her, she very obviously ignored the question. Once he even went up to her in class and asked her, but she just ignored his question as if she had never heard him say it.

"Who's that?" Alex asked.

"Its uh, Todd…" Piper was hesitant to answer, but she knew she would be better off just telling the truth, even if there wasn't a great reaction.

"Oh." Alex was surprised, but there was a more of an edge to her response, even though she wasn't that angry.  _Except… Maybe I am sort of angry? No… I'm kind of jealous of that jerk. Wait what? Why would I be?_ Alex thought.

"He talks to me every now and then… He has asked me out quite a bit. I use to think about accepting… But now it's just annoying…" Piper mumbled.

There was that uncomfortable look Alex got.

"I don't like him though."

Alex looked up at her with a curious look on her face. She was happy to hear that Piper didn't like that jerk anymore.  _Just because she doesn't like him anymore doesn't mean she likes you._  She thought.

"I like you." Piper then said.  _Shit. Do I actually mean this? Why was I just thinking about saying yes to Todd two seconds ago? Fuck I'm scared right now._

Alex had no idea how to even feel at that moment, except this time she knew exactly what Piper meant when she said that. She felt happy, and confused. She was confused as to why she even felt happy.

Piper started to lean in. The two go closer, and as they were only inches apart Alex remembered what Nicky had said to her:  _So maybe deal with your shit with her, and also remember you have other friends._

_This was what Nicky was talking about. This is what I have to deal with with Piper. But why am I dealing with it now when I need to be with Nicky?_

Alex pulled away just as their lips were about to lock.

"What the fuck?" Alex said as she got up.

Piper looked shocked and confused and scared by Alex's sudden outburst. She then got up. "Alex-"

"Seriously Piper, what the hell?" Alex wasn't angry with Piper, she was angry with herself, but she couldn't keep a lid on her emotions. They were all blowing up, and anger is what decided to show. "I can't fucking believe you. You know I'm upset about this fight, and you decide to make it about yourself? You are so fucking selfish. Jesus."

_Where the hell is this coming from?_  Piper thought. "I'm sorry I never meant to-"

"Yeah well you did." Alex said harshly. She could see the hurt in Pipers eyes. She was doing it again. She was hurting someone she truly cared about, but she couldn't not be angry right now. "I can't deal with this right now." Alex said. She walked past Piper, not even daring to look at her, because she knew she couldn't bare looking at how hurt she looked.

Piper was left standing on the roof of Alex's apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I told you... I like cliffhangers...


	8. Making Up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time no update huh? Sorry about that guys, I went away and i had very little access to the internet. BUT I did get a lot of writing done, and I think you will all like where the story is heading. But for now lets focus on where we currently are.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this and let me know your thoughts!

 

Alex raced down the stairs. She had no idea what was really going on in her mind. She was focus only on making up with Nicky. She hadn't had much time to really think about what had just happened with Piper. She didn't want to think about it.

She left the building and went to the bus stop, hoping that it wouldn't be long until the bus finally came.

It didn't take that long, but Alex was dreading having time to sit and think. The bus ride to Nickys house was about 30 minutes, with a 10 minute walk. That was a lot of time she would have to herself.

* * *

Piper stayed on the roof for a while. She didn't really understand where that whole thing came from.  _Why was she so mad?_

She knew why Alex was mad. She didn't really want to admit that she was the problem here, but she knew she was. Or at least she was part of the problem. She figured that Alex had gone over to Nicky's. Piper knew she had no good reason to stay here and wait for Alex.

Piper walked down the stairs. She was about to pass Alex's apartment when she ran into Alex's mother.

The two of them hadn't ever really spoken too much. She was always at work whenever Piper was over, although there were times when she was around.

"Oh hi Piper." Diane said as she walked up the stairs.

"Hi."

"Where's Alex?"

"I think she uh… ran off to Nicky's house."

"Oh. Well, are you okay?" Diane had a good sense about things. She knew and understood Alex and her emotions quite well, but she was good with picking things up from other people. "Did you and Alex have a fight now too?"

"I guess so… yeah…"

"Well whatever it was about, don't take it personally. I love her, but she's really fucking hot-headed."

Piper was sort of relieved to hear that. Knowing that maybe it wasn't her, but just Alex and what happened with Nicky that caused the outburst.

"Are you getting a ride?" She asked.

"I'm not no. I took the bus here."

"Well you are welcome to stay here for a while. It's fucking miserable out there."

"It's raining?" Piper had been out there minutes before. It didn't look like it was even going to rain.

"It sure as hell is. Come in and wait." Diane insisted.

Piper walked into the apartment. This would be the first time that the two of them would spend time together without Alex around. She sat down on the couch as Diane put the recycling bin back where it should be.

It was silent for a while. Piper had no idea what to really say. She wanted to talk to Alex, but instead she only had Alex's mother to talk to. She thought about texting one of her friends, but she knew that nothing good would come out of that.

Piper got up to get a glass of water. She filled up the cup, and as she was about to go back to the couch, she noticed a picture of Alex that she had never seen before.

"I've never seen this picture of her before."

Diane walked over to where Piper was standing. "Alex found it in her room when she was cleaning up. She wanted me to throw it away but fuck that. I have almost no pictures of her."

Alex had to of been about 6 or 7 in this picture. She had long brown hair, and big rimmed glasses. She looked happy in the picture, although Piper wasn't sure if she just looked happy because she was supposed to.

"She's really special. She's lucky to have you as her mother."

"And she's lucky she has a such a great… friend like you."

It was still pouring rain out, but Piper really just wanted to go home. "Thanks for letting me stay here for a while, but I think i'm going to head home."

"Alright, well I hope things work out. Just give her time."

"I will." Piper said as she opened the door and walked out.

It was really raining out, but Piper didn't mind. "I think we are better off as just friends."

* * *

"Of course its fucking raining out." Alex said as she walked up to Nicky's house. The lights were still on, which made her a bit hopeful that she was actually inside

She got to the door and rang to doorbell.

Nicky was in her room, in the middle of rolling a joint, when the doorbell rang. She got up and went to go open it to see Alex standing in the pouring rain.

"Hi." Nicky said with a rather dull tone to her voice.

"I need to apologize. Can I come in?"

"Yeah sure." Nicky moved so Alex could come in. "I was in the middle of something, so can we go upstairs?"

"Okay."

This whole situation was weird. Neither of them were really mad at the other. It was as if they were strangers to each other.

The two of them went into Nicky's room and Alex sat on the bed, watching Nicky. Nicky finished rolling her joint, and got out her lighter.

"I assume you don't want a hit?" Nicky asked.

"No I'm fine. But uh, do you want to wait? I wanna talk and i'd rather you sober then not…" Alex wasn't someone who ever really wanted to smoke or do drugs. People always just assumed she did all of that because of how she looked, but it wasn't really her thing. Nicky never smoked often, but recently it was becoming something she did more ofter.

Alex never asked her to not smoke, so Nicky knew that what Alex had to say was important. "Yeah sure." She said as she put down the joint.

"I want to say I'm sorry, for yelling at you. It wasn't your fault. If it wasn't for her annoying voice I don't think i would have recognized her." Alex said.

"No Alex don't be sorry. I fucked up here too. It's just, I was sick of being the third wheel to you guys." Nicky got up and got onto her bed.

"I know, and I'm sorry for not realizing that, but you will never be a third wheel… or, not to me at least. You're my best friend, do you really think I'd ditch you for someone I met not that long ago?"

"I really fuckin' hope you wouldn't."

"You were right though. I did forget I had other friends. I was so caught up with Piper that I did forget… There's a lot to figure out there…"

"You two seriously have to figure it out. And you know, I'm here for you if you need to talk about this, or anything."

"I know, and same goes with me."

"So are we good? I mean, I think our feeling are kind of all on the table here…"

"We are, yeah." Alex said smiling. "I really hate being the one to change topics to something that we just sort of fought over… But speaking of Piper…"

"Shit. Did something happen with you two?" Nicky said as she got up to get her joint. "Also do you mind If i?" She held it up.

Alex nodded her head and continued to speak. "She told me she liked me, and then we kissed- no… we almost did…"

Nicky coughed a tiny bit as she gasped. "Holy shit. That's kind of huge."

"Yeah… and then I blew up at her and left to come here."

It was silent for a minute, and the Nicky started to laugh. "The one girl you really like, tells you she's into you, and you reject her? Holy shit Vause."

"C'mon I kept thinking about what you said to me! There was a lot going on and I don't know. I fucked up."

"Fuck yeah you did. You need to fix this."

Alex sighed. "I've needed to fix a lot of things these days…"

"Remember that girl, Emily I think her name was, and you two started fucking each other every now and then?"

"Uh, yeah. What about her?"

"That girl was crazy about you. Fuck I think she was almost in love with you, but you didn't even have feelings for her. You just thought she was really hot."

"Wait she was what? Did she actually like me that much?" Alex was shocked. She had no idea that this girl ever really had intense feelings.

"She never wanted to tell you that she even had feelings for you in the first place, because she knew you didn't feel the same way."

"What is your point here anyway?"

"My point is, even though you were fucking someone who clearly had feelings for you, you didn't feel the same way. You haven't ever felt the same way with anyone. But with Piper, you do. This girl's special, and I think you know that."

Alex wasn't sure what to say to that. But she knew Nicky had a point.

* * *

Alex had spent the night at Nicky's. She got up around noon, and headed over to Pipers to talk about what had happened last night.

Nicky was able to drive Alex over there. The two of then lived fairly close to each other. They into their lived in more richer neighbourhoods.

"Thanks for the ride." Alex said as she got out of the car.

"Yeah no problem. Let me know how it goes!" Nicky then drove off.

Alex rang the doorbell to the house, and thankfully, Piper answered.

"Hey." Alex said.

"Hey, uh, come in,"

The two of them went up to Pipers room.

"I'm sorry about last night." Alex blurted out. She would have rather it be a subtle lead into the conversation. "I was never angry at you. I was having a sort of fucked up night and I was really angry at myself. What I said was all about me, not you."

"I totally understand. But your were right. I was being selfish and for that I am sorry. And I should never have tried to kiss you... We're friends. Just friends."

That was something Alex did not really want to hear. "Right. Just friends..."

Piper could sense disappointment coming from Alex, but wasn't really sure why she was.

"I just came here to apologize and make sure we were still friends. I need to head home." Alex said motioning to the door.

"Okay. Well we are all good, so don't worry."

They headed back downstairs and out onto the front porch. The two stood there looking into one another's eyes. Alex caught Piper looking at her lips. All she did was smirk a bit, knowing exactly what she was thinking.

"Oh and uh, just in case you were wondering what my reaction to that almost kiss was-" Alex pressed her lips against Pipers.

Piper stood on her tip toes and put her arms around Alex's neck. Alex moved her hands to Pipers waist, and pulled her closer.

It was a long and passionate kiss that both of them had always known they wanted.

The two of them were interrupted by someone walking up to where they were standing.

"Piper?"

The two of them pulled away to see a girl with shoulder lengthen brown hair,and green eyes standing in front of them.

"Polly? Is that you?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this was worth the wait! Next chapter is a fun one.


	9. Imagine Me and You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I really like this chapter, and I hope you guys like it too! I really enjoy reading your comments, so please let me know what you think! Also if you have anything you want to see in future chapters, let me know and may that will happen.  
> Anyway, Enjoy!

 

 "So is she like, here permanently or?" Nicky asked as her and Alex waited inline for their order. 

 

"I guess so. Apparently she's enrolled in my school now."

 

"Is she even allowed to come in midway through the first semester?"

 

"They're saying that she was enrolled in the beginning of the year but just never showed up."

 

"Who the fuck is 'they'?" 

 

"No clue... Her family is really rich, I think they just payed someone to let her come in at this time. Why the hell she would want to go to that dump of a school is beyond me." 

 

The two of them picked up their drinks and headed outside. It was starting to get really cold out. The two of them spent time debating weather or not they should leave the warmth yet or not. They decided that they would have to go out eventually. 

 

"Well, Vause, have fun facing the girl who broke up your steamy make out session with Piper." Nicky said as she backed away with a smirk on her face. 

 

"It wasn't- were not- we're just friends!" Alex yelled back. 

 

"Sure ya are." Nicky yelled back sarcastically. 

 

Alex rolled her eyes and started to walked towards her school. She knew this girl was starting school today. She hoped that she didn't have the same classes that Piper and her had. 

 

She groaned as she walked into the school. She was on time for once. She was on her way to her class when her glasses really started to fog up. "I fucking hate this." She said as she took them off 

 

Wiping of the fog never helped, as they always just got dirtier and harder to see through. She walked into her class and sat down in her seat. It was times like these where she hated her spot by the window. The cold air always seemed to find its way in. 

 

Alex heard Pipers voice come into the room. She sat up in hear seat but then slowly slouched over when she realized that she wasn't alone. 

 

Piper walked over to her and sat down in the seat beside her. Polly then sat down in front of Piper. Before Alex or Piper could even speak to each other, class started. 

 

The two of them hadn't spoken to each other since Polly arrived. Alex wanted to call Piper, but she figured that she would be too busy catching up with Polly. 

 

The teacher for this class was a real hard-ass. He favours the weirdest people. All of Pipers friends always come in late with their Starbucks drink so and he lets them off the hook. If Alex were to come in even one minute late she would be yelled at. 

 

And about ten minutes into class all of Pipers friends walked in. 

 

Alex always liked the first few minutes of class where Piper and her would have time together. Piper would still take to her when her friends were around  it was just always more awkward. Piper would always act differently, as if she was scare pd about being judged by the people around her. 

 

Today was even worse because Pipers attention was always on Polly. Of course everyone else was interested in her too. She had a different vibe coming off of her that made everyone want to become friends with her. 

 

When the teacher stopped her lesson the room became very loud. Of course, Alex retreated into a book. 

 

Piper was surprised at how well her and Polly still got along. 11 years later and they went straight back to being best friends. 

 

Polly and Sarah and Kathryn all started talking, leaving Piper to either talk with them, or talk to Alex. She chose the latter. 

 

“Good book?”

 

Alex looked over to see Piper smiling at her. “It’s not bad. Kind of a cliché, but what can I do?” She said smiling. 

 

“Hey Pipes we’re all going out for lunch today, I assume you’re coming?” Polly said as she turned around. 

 

“Uh yeah sure” Piper nodded.

 

“I see you’re back to hanging out with those… people.” Alex looked back to her book. 

 

“Well, they seemed to really take to Polly, and I would like to spent time with her so…”

 

“Right.” 

 

“But don’t forget, I will always have time for you.” Piper could see Alex was trying to act like she didn’t care, even though she did. She caught Alex smile behind her book when she said that. 

 

“Okay, fine. Nicky and I are going to a movie tonight if you’d like to come.” She saw Piper glance over to Polly before she opened her mouth to speak, but before she could Alex said more. “You’re welcome to bring… uh, your friend.” Alex had forgotten her name already.

 

“I’ll check, but i’ll for sure be there.” She smiled. 

 

“Hey weirdo, class is over?” Polly shouted to Piper from across the room. 

 

“What?” Piper looked up at the time. She waved by to Alex and hurried up out of class. 

 

“C’mon lets go!” Polly said as she walked out of the room. 

 

* * *

 

Most lunches were the same. Piper would either eat with Sarah and Kathryn and other friends. They would talk about boys and not much else. Other times Piper would eat with Alex. They would talk about loads of things that Piper found more interesting then the same conversation she had with her other friends. 

 

Today’s lunch was different though. Piper was so happy to just be with Polly again that she didn’t really care about what they spoke about. She just really enjoyed her time being around her friend. 

 

“So Piper, is there any boy your into? I heard Todd still wants you.” Sarah said.

 

“Uh, I think I’m okay with not going out with him.” She replied. 

 

“But he’s soo hot! I would so go out with him.” Kathryn chimed in.

 

Piper was about to say something when Polly said something first. “Wait, aren’t you dating Alex?”

 

“Oh who's Ale-“ Kathryn almost got excited, until she realized that Polly had to have been talking about Alex Vause. “Oh… Her? Piper, that’s not true is it?”

 

“Uh” Piper wasn’t really sure how to answer that, because she thought that her and Alex were just friends. “Were not. We’re just friends.”

 

“Good.” Sarah looked kind of pissed off at Piper.

 

“Really Piper? Just friends?” Polly questioned. 

 

“Yeah we are just friends.” Piper was unsure weather this was true or not, but that’s sort of where they left it. Even after their kiss, it was assumed that they were still just friends. 

 

It was silent for a bit. No one was really sure what to say. Sarah sure as hell didn’t want Alex brought up, and Kathryn wasn’t sure why the idea of Alex and Piper bothered her so much. Polly was curious as to why Piper was so set on the idea of ‘just friends.’

 

“Hey Kathryn, I need a tea. Come with me?” Sarah asked as she stood up. 

 

“Uh sure, yeah.” Kathryn stood up and followed Sarah.

 

Piper and Polly watched them walk away. They could both tell they were going to talk about what had just happened. 

 

“So Piper… What’s up with that?”  
  
“What, their reaction? Who knows. They don’t really like Alex a lot and-“

 

“No not that. That whole ‘just friends’ thing? You two obviously aren’t just that.”

 

“It was just a kiss. She kissed me, it was a one time thing. I’m not gay or anything.”

 

“Okay fine, fine.” Polly said holding her hands up surrendering. 

 

“Besides, a kiss doesn’t even mean anything, right?It was confusing and she doesn’t even like me. She could have anyone honestly. But seriously it was nothi-“ 

 

“Piper! I said okay. I get it.” Polly interrupted. 

 

“Oh right…” Piper hesitated for a second. “Speaking of Alex, she invited me- uh us, to go to a movie with her and her friend tonight.” 

 

“On a monday? Okay.,,”  
  
“You don’t have to go or anything. I just thought…”  
  
“I’ll be there. I want to get to know your all your friends.” 

 

The two of them sat talking until lunch was over. Sarah and Kathryn appeared near the end of lunch, but obviously couldn’t stay long. 

 

It was third period, and that meant Piper and Alex had class together. Although Kathryn had the same class, they were able to ignore her most of the time.

 

“So I spoke to Polly and she said she would come tonight.” 

 

“Cool.” Alex said as she nodded her head. 

 

“Yeah… Look, everything’s good between us right? I mean… We haven’t really had a chance to speak after our kiss…” 

 

Before Alex could say anything Kathryn butted in. “Holy crap. You two hooked up!?” She said with a surprised tone. 

 

Both Alex and Piper looked over to her. Piper mouth was agape, while Alex just raised and eyebrow and had a confused expression. 

 

“We didn’t- Not really- What?”

 

“Oh shut up. If you didn’t want anyone to hear that then don’t talk about it so loudly.”   
  
“She has a point.” Alex said. 

 

“Okay fine. Yes, we kissed, but It was…” Piper didn’t know how to continue. She had always said it meant nothing, and that they were just friends, but she didn’t know how Alex felt. They really needed to clear things up. 

 

Alex continued Pipers sentence. “We’re just friends. It just sort of happened. No big deal.” 

 

Before Kathryn could say anything more, the bell rang. Kathryn got up and raced off to her next class.   
  
“Nicky’s going to come by here after school so we can go right away. So I guess I’ll meet you at your locker?”

 

“Yeah that sounds good, but we still need to talk.” 

 

“Okay, well we will.”

 

“Good.” Piper stood up but before she left she leaned over and whispered “You look hot in plaid.” 

 

Alex watched Piper walk away. She then got up and walked into the desk in front of her. “Well, fuck.”

 

* * *

 

Alex was almost at Piper’s locker when she noticed Sarah and Kathryn crowding around Piper. Alex causally stood on the other side of the hall. She wasn’t really worried about anything happening, in fact she quite liked watching Piper’s friends get annoyed, but she just didn’t feel like facing Kathryn after what had happened. She really didn’t need that brought up. 

 

 

Sarah and Kathryn later walked away, shooting Alex a look as they walked passed. Alex then walked up to Piper and Polly, who were just standing talking while Piper tried to figure out what books she did or didn’t need. 

 

“They seemed like they were in a hurry to leave.” Alex said as she leaned against the locker beside Pipers. 

 

“Yeah, well they would have left sooner if you weren’t on the other side of the hall.”

 

“Right…” 

 

There was then an awkward silence. Alex didn’t really care for Polly at all. If she didn’t have to, then she would probably never even bother to talk to her.

 

_Nicky- hurry the fuck up._

 

_Alex- We will be out soon. I’m sure you can handle 5 minutes in a car._

 

“Alex?”

 

Alex had zoned out. She looked from her phone to see Piper waving her hand. “Uh, yeah?”

 

“We’re ready, so let’s go.” Polly said. 

 

Alex walked behind the two of them. She just sighed and regretted even suggesting Polly should come along. All she really wanted to do was be with Piper. 

 

The three of them got outside. Nicky’s car wasn’t hard to miss. 

 

“Oh shit, this is a nice car!” Polly raced over to the car and opened the door to the passenger seat. “Hey I’m Polly.” 

 

“Uh, hey.” Nicky said hesitantly. 

 

“Look’s like we’re sitting in the back.” Alex said as she opened the door for Piper. 

 

The two of them got into the back seat. Then they were off to the theatre.

 

“So what movie are we seeing anyway?” Piper asked. 

 

“Oh uh… Honestly I was thinking about like a horror movie or something.” Nicky replied. 

 

“I’d totally be up for that.” Polly said. 

 

Alex looked over to Piper who looked uncomfortable at the thought of another horror movie. “Maybe we could do something different? We see a lot of horror movies so…” 

 

“Yeah sure. We will see when we get there I guess.” Nicky said.

 

* * *

 

The car ride was quite awkward. It seemed a lot longer then it actually was. They parked the car, and got out. 

 

Nicky was unsure of who to talk to. She wasn’t really sure what to even say to Polly. 

 

When they got inside the building they looked at what was playing. There was a lot of current movies playing, but at this theatre they would also play movies that had come out years ago. 

 

“Okay well, what are we thinking?” Nicky asked. 

 

“I don’t know. All these movies look like crap.” Alex replied.

 

“You know, I’m going to try something. I’m just going to go up and asked them to give me a ticket to any movie they chose, and then that’s what we will see.” Polly said. 

 

“Yeah go for it. I’d love to see how this turns out.” Alex said with a hint of sarcasm. 

 

“Just trust me.” Polly said as she walked over to the ticket booth. A few minutes later Polly came back holding a ticked. “It’s one of the older re-run movies.” She said. 

 

“Oh please tell me its Nightmare on Elm Street.” Nicky said, hoping that it actually was. 

 

“It’s not. It’s some movies called uh… Imagine Me and You.” Polly said holding up the ticket in her hand. 

 

Nicky looked over to Alex who looked like she couldn’t decided weather or not it was a good thing that that was the movie they were going to go see. Nicky just smirked when she noticed Alex was also looking over at Piper to see what her reaction was. 

 

“Well, sounds good.” Nicky said as she walked over to buy her ticked. 

 

She then retuned and Alex was next to go buy her ticket. 

 

“I’ve heard about this movie, although I’m not sure what it’s about fully… Do you know anything about it Pipes?” Polly asked. 

 

Piper didn’t reply. She was looking over at Alex, who was so obviously flirting with the girl who was working at the booth. 

 

She completely ignored what Polly was saying. The second Alex left, Piper raced over to buy her ticket as fast as she could. 

 

Nicky and Polly walked ahead of Alex, and Piper quickly caught up with her.

  
“What the hell was that?” Piper asked. 

 

“What was what?” 

 

“You and that girl.”  
  
“What about me and her?”

 

“She was flirting with you.”

 

“And your point here is?”

 

“You were flirting back…”

 

The two of them stopped and waited as Nicky and Polly bought some popcorn and candy. 

 

“Holy shit, are you jealous?” Alex asked as she realized that Piper was in fact, really jealous. She then smirked and raised and eyebrow. 

 

“No,… I’m not. No, why would I be jealous? I just… We’re friends, so no. I’m not.”

 

“I’m having a hard time believing that. I mean, I can see why you would be jealous of her…”

 

_God she can be so fucking cocky._  Piper thought to herself.  _Although when you’re that hot… No Piper shut up._  “Okay maybe I’m a little jealous.” 

 

Alex smirked. 

 

“Hey you two, are you coming or what?” Nicky called out, breaking the intense eye-contact between the two. 

 

They started to walk towards the theatre. When they got into the theatre, there was no one else there. It wasn’t surprising considering the movie, and the time of day. 

 

The four of them walked up to the top row, and sat in the centre. The four of them didn’t plan on sitting down for the entire movie, as they had the whole place to themselves. 

 

“This’ll be fun.” Nicky said smiling. 

 

* * *

 

The movie started and the four of them scattered all of the theatre. Nicky went and sat on the ledge above where people would walk in. Polly was sitting in the back, sitting on the back of the seat with her feet on the seat in front of her. Alex was sitting in the middle of the theatre with her feet up. 

 

Piper was cold, so she got up to get a sweater from her bag. She walked over to where Alex was sitting, and sat down. 

 

“You're wearing my sweater.” 

 

“I know… I forgot to give it back.” 

 

“You should probably just keep it. Doesn’t seem like I’m going to get it back anytime soon.”  


“It’s just really soft… And it’s yours…”

 

“What’s that supposed to me?” Alex chuckled a bit. 

 

“Shhhh.” Nicky said as she attempted to throw a piece of popcorn at the two, but missed.

 

Alex just rolled her eyes and looked back over to Piper. 

 

“That night when you gave it to me, you made me feel safe. So I like having it. It’s a reminder of that night.”

 

“Well, I’m here right now.” Alex said as she put her arm around Piper. 

 

“Yeah, you are.” Piper said smiling.   
  
The two of them leaned in. They were only inches apart from each other when one of the characters from the movie yelled “You’re a wanker number nine” startling the two. 

 

They both pulled away. Alex moved her arm off of Piper’s shoulders, but before she could, Piper stopped her. Piper then rested her head on Alex’s shoulder. 

 

The four of them watched them watched the movie for a while, with no one talking. At some point Polly got up and walked over to where Nicky was sitting. 

 

"So do you think they will actually end up dating or?" Polly whispered. 

 

"I think they will. I know Alex though, and she doesn't ever want to admit her feeling about... Well anything."

 

"Right... I mean, Piper keeps talking about how they're 'just friends' but that's clearly not true."

 

"You know it's weird, Alex said that same thing to me this morning."

 

"So you know they kissed right?"

 

Nicky turned over to Polly as if she had no idea what she was doing. "I do yeah..." She turned back to the movie.  _Is this girl seriously trying to gossip with me about my best friend?_

 

"Right..." Polly turned to walk away when she stopped and looked over to Piper and Alex. "Okay but they know how they look right? They look the a fucking couple."

 

Nicky looked over to the two of them. They really did look like a couple. "just leave it be. They both have the feels for each other, and so it'll happen at some point."

 

Polly then walk back to where she was sitting before.

 

* * *

 

"So that was a... Good, but cheesy movie..." Piper said as the four of them walked over to the car. 

 

"Yeah there wasn't anything that new... Although I enjoyed it." Polly replied. 

 

"So you two have never seen it before huh?" Nicky asked. 

 

"Nope." Piper said. 

 

The four of them all got into Nicky's car. This time, Alex in the passenger seat, and Piper and Polly in the back. 

 

"So uh, where am I going?" Nicky asked. 

 

"Oh right, well I live on Hillcrest." Polly said. 

 

"Oh shit really? I live on that street." Nicky replied. "So I guess I'm dropping of Alex and Piper first."

 

"Hey uh Piper, do you want to come over to my place for a bit?" Alex asked. 

 

"Sure, yeah. I have homework to do though so, I can't stay long."

 

"Well, it looks like I'm going to Alex's first..." Nicky said as she turned the car to go the other direction. 

 

* * *

 

“So, what do you think about Polly?”

 

“Uh you know, she seems… nice…” Alex was hesitant. She didn't particularly like Polly. She didn’t know why. Maybe it was because she interrupted her and Pipers kiss, but she didn’t really know. 

 

“Well, I think you’ll grow to like her.”

 

“Yeah, maybe.”

 

Alex was laying on the couch with music playing. Piper walked over to her, and sat down on the other end of the couch. 

 

“You two seem like you’d get along.” Piper then lay down, putting her head on Alex’s chest. 

 

“Look, I can’t promise anything, but I’ll try.” She put her arm around Piper.

 

“Thanks.”

 

The two of them fell asleep on the couch, with smiles on their face’s.   



	10. Just admit it already.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an interesting chapter for Alex... Originally this was going to be two parts, but what fun is that? Why not just have it all now.  
> So I hope you enjoy this very interesting chapter...

 "Piper dinner!" 

 

Piper sighed as she sat up from her desk. She was happy that she had an excuse to not do her homework, but she really had to do it. 

 

She walked downstairs to the dining room. Her father was sitting at one end of the table. Cal walked into the room holding a fairly big chicken.

 

"Mmm this smells good." Piper said as she sat down at the table. 

 

"Doesn't it? I helped mom with the food." Cal said sitting down. 

 

Just then Pipers mother walked in holding a bowl of mashed potatoes. 

She sat down, and everyone served themselves. When each person had a full plate of food, they started to eat. 

 

"So Piper, how come you were home so late?" Her mother asked. 

 

"I went to a movie and then I went over to Alex's."

 

"Oh." Piper could tell that her mother didn't approve of Piper spending so much time with Alex. "Well you know, since Polly is here, I'm sure you two could spend a lot more time together."

 

"Yeah we have. She went to the movie with us."

 

"What did you see?" She asked. 

 

"Uh." Piper was hesitant to answer. She new she was able to see most movies, she just wasn't sure if her mother would approve of her going to see a movie with about to women falling in love. "Just some older movie.. I don't remember what it was called."

 

There was a long silence. All you could hear was the sound of cutlery hitting the plate as they all ate. 

 

"How was school today's?" Their father asked.

 

"School was good. We built some kind of mechanism with pulleys and stuff in science."

 

"That sounds fun. Maybe you will grow up to be some sort of mechanic or something." Their mother said. 

 

"And how about you Piper?"

 

"It's was good. Polly and I have a few classes together. So yeah, it was good." One thing Piper noticed was that neither of her parents would ever asked how each other's day was. They never really spoke to one another if it didn't have to do with us. They avoided as much conflict as they could. 

 

Dinner finished and Piper and Cal cleaned up. 

 

"So how did things go with Alex?" Cal asked. 

 

"Oh you know, we're just friends."

 

"Really? Just friends? I thought you were going to go confess your undying love to her."

 

"Well I told her I liked her... And then things got complicated... And then Polly showed up."

 

"Okay...?"

 

"We haven't spoken about it since. We really need to I know, but i just... It's scary, alright?"

 

"Alright. I still think you two would be great together."

 

"Shut up." Piper said which a small smile appearing on her face. She flicked some water  on Cal and put the dishes away. 

 

* * *

 

" _So are you and Alex going to make it official anytime soon?_ " Polly asked. 

 

"No... Well, maybe. I don't know Pol, it's complicated."

 

" _Okay. Well I think you two look super cute together... Although I would be careful with her._ "

 

"Careful? What do you mean?"

 

" _Nothing. I just think with someone like her, you need to watch out a bit. I don't need her breaking your heart._ "

 

"Who says she's going to break my heart? And what the hell do you mean 'someone like her' ?"

 

" _Someone who... I don't know.. Does drugs and skips school. Someone who is unreliable._ "

 

"She doesn't do drugs... I think. But she isn't like that. Trust me, she's not."

 

" _Okay fine. You can't say I didn't warn you._ "

 

"Well thank you for watching out for me. I had to go, I've been putting off my homework for ages now. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye."

 

" _Byye_ "

 

Piper hung up the phone.

 

 “Well it looks like I finally have to get to this homework…” Piper said as she stared down to an almost empty page. “I hate math.”

 

* * *

 

“Okay so I was thinking, how about you and Larry go out?”

 

“Who?” Piper asked before she realized who Sarah was talking about. “Oh… Really? Him?” She looked over to the front of the room where an averaged hight guy sat. He had short dark brown hair. He was a very nice guy, and seemed like he would be good boyfriend material, but he also seemed like her would be a tiny bit too needy. 

 

“Yeah! I think you two would really great together. He’s pretty cute too.” 

 

“Uh, I don’t know. I’m not really looking for anyone to really date-“   


“Oh god please do not tell me you and that  _Alex_  girl are going out…” Sarah said in a rather stuck up and bitchy tone. 

 

“Us? Oh no… We… We aren’t.” Piper wasn’t fully happy about saying that. 

 

“Okay good.” Sarah was rather satisfied with hearing Piper say that. 

 

* * *

 

Alex was getting bored in class. She didn’t speak to anyone. Sometimes this girl would talk to her, but she rarely replied with more than one word answers.

 

She raised her hand and asked to go to the washroom. 

 

As she was walking down the hall she ran into Polly; literally. 

 

“Hey watch where your goin-“ Polly looked up to see a startled Alex standing in front of her. “Oh, Alex.” 

 

“Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.” 

 

It was an awkward interaction and Alex just wanted to get away from her. She started to walk again, before Polly stopped her. 

 

“Hey! I need to talk to you actually.” 

 

“Uhm, okay. Well I was going to get another coffee so… You want to talk to me on the way there?” Alex suggested. 

 

Polly hated people who skipped, but she had to catch Alex alone. She had fourth period with her alone yesterday, but she didn’t seem to know her well enough to talk to her about Piper. Polly now thought since she had hung out with her last night that she was able to talk about their relationship.  
  
“Yeah okay fine. Let’s go quick.”

 

The two walked out of the building. Alex hated going to her locker so she always just wore her jacket into class. She was wearing a dark blue and black plaid hoodie, and a black leather jacket.

 

When the two of them stepped out, it was quite cold. Alex was fine in the weather, but it was clearly visible that Polly was cold. 

 

“So what did you want to talk to me about?” Alex asked. 

 

“I just n-needed to uh- to uh, talk about-“ Polly was finding it hard to really say what she wanted to because she was so cold. 

 

“uh here.” Alex took off her leather jacket and gave it to polly to wear. 

 

Polly took it and putting it on. It was pretty big for Polly to wear. The sleeves were a bit too long. “Thanks…” She thought about this small action the whole walk to the cafe. She thought about how maybe she was wrong about Alex.  _If she does this for someone she barely knows, then she must be a really nice person…_  Polly then thought about how Alex must treat Piper.  _Maybe I was really wrong._

 

“Polly?”

 

“What? uh- Yeah?” 

 

“Did you want to say something to me or?” Alex asked with a curious expression on her face. 

 

“Right yeah. I just wanted to talk to you about Piper.” 

 

“Okay…” Alex really didn’t need to be asked about her relationship with Piper. She didn’t like the thought of admitting that she liked the girl. Even Nicky couldn’t get her to actually say it. 

 

“I don’t want you to fuck with her feelings okay? I mean, I know she like’s you, but weather or not you feel the same way, you better make sure you don’t hurt her.”

 

Hearing Polly be so protective over Piper made some sense to Alex, but at the same time it made no sense. Polly hadn’t been around for that long and already it was like they had been best friends for years. 

 

“I don’t plan on it.” Alex said. She really didn’t like talking to this girl much now. 

 

“Okay good. Then do something about your feelings for her, because it’s killing her looking at you every day and knowing that you two will probably be just friends. That’s on you Alex. You need to tell her your feelings this time.” 

 

Alex just stood there and thought about what she had just heard, because yeah, she didn’t want to ever say it. Thing’s become to real when you say it out loud. Alex knew she liked Piper, but if she couldn’t even say it to Nicky, then how would she say it to Piper? 

 

“Alex your next.” Polly said snapping Alex out of her thoughts. 

 

She then walked over to the register and ordered her drink. 

  
“Look uh- Polly? I understand you want to be protective about Piper, but i’m not going to have this conversation with you.”

 

“Fine, whatever. Just remember what I said.” Polly then started to walk away. “Just don’t fucking hurt her.” 

 

Alex was then left alone, waiting for her order, and thinking about what Polly had said to her. She really had no idea where that came from, but she knew she was screwed. Alex had no idea how to even tell Piper that she liked her.  _Wasn’t that kiss obvious enough?_  

 

* * *

 

It was finally Friday. Most lunches on Friday Piper and Alex would eat together, but since Polly was around, thing’s seem to be changing. 

 

Alex was on her way over to this small hall in the school, where they normally at lunch. She was passed by Sarah and Kathryn who then headed into the hall. Alex so did not want to deal with these girls today, but she also really wanted to spend time with Piper. 

 

Instead of actually heading fully into the hall, she decided to sit down closer to where it met the main hall. She opened her bag, and got out a book. 

 

Piper noticed her sitting there reading. She wanted to go up to her, but with Sarah there, things were a bit harder. 

 

“So what are your guys’ plans for tomorrow night?” Sarah asked. 

 

Everyone just looked to other people, and mumbled ‘nothing really.’

 

“Okay… Well theres a party tomorrow night and I think we should all go.”  


“Yeah sure, I’m in.” Polly said. Everyone else agreed they would go as well. 

 

“Great. It’s at this guys house, Pete, I think his name is. He’s friends with Mark and Todd.” Sarah glanced over to Piper. 

 

“Really? What the hell is with this Todd thing? I think I made it pretty clear that I’m not into him.” Piper said. 

 

“I know I know… Besides, I spoke to Larry earlier and he said he would be happy to take you.” Sarah said. 

 

Polly looked over to Piper who had this look of anger and guilt on her face. Piper really didn’t want to go with Larry, and she was so angry that Sarah had just set her up like that. She also felt guilty because of Alex.   
  
Piper looked over to where she was sitting. Alex had obviously heard what Sarah had said, as she was walking away.

 

Sarah had this smirk on her face that said she knew that would piss off Alex. 

 

“What the fuck? I never said I wanted to go out with Larry.”

 

“C’mon, he’s pretty cute and I think he has a crush on you. Just go one this one date with the guy.”

 

* * *

 

“What are you doing moping around here anyway?” Nicky asked. 

 

“I just want to spend some time with you.” Alex replied.

 

“That’s bullshit. You want to go to that party, don’t you?”

 

“Well… I don’t see why showing up would hurt…”

 

“Great. I’m feeling up for a party tonight, so let’s go!” Nicky said as she hopped up off of her couch. “It’s only a few blocks away anyway, so we’ll just walk.” 

 

* * *

 

Piper and Larry arrived at the party together. He had picked her up at her house. The two of them walked into the loud house. Piper was desperately trying to look out for someone she knew. 

 

_Piper- Polly I am not kidding, I need you with me NOW._

 

This was probably the fifth text she had sent in the last 10 minutes. 

 

“Do you want a drink or something?” Larry asked. 

 

“Uh sure. Water would be great.”

 

“Alright I’ll go get some. I’ll be right back.”

 

If Piper were like Sarah then she would have ditched Larry and gone to find someone else, but she wasn’t like her. She couldn’t just leave him like that. She knew she had to be there with him, although she really didn’t want to be.

 

“Piper! Hey!” Polly shouted.   
  
Piper turned around to see Polly walking towards her. “Polly! thank god you are hear. This has been the most awkward thing ever.” 

 

“Oh… Yeah I’m sorry about that still. But I’m going to have to leave you to it. Pete here is going to show me around the house.” Polly said as she latched on to a tall guy beside her. 

 

“Are you drunk?”

 

“Only a tiny bit.” Polly said as the two started to walk away. “Oh and Piper, your girlfriend is here.”

 

“Alex?” Piper questions as someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around hoping that Alex would be there, but instead it was Larry. 

 

“Uh nope. My names Larry, I seriously hope you know that by now.”

 

“Sorry I was just talking to my friend and she mentioned something to do with her…” 

 

“It’s cool.” The two of them stood there awkwardly for a while. “Let’s go sit on the couch or something.”

  
They both walked into the living room. There were tons of people dancing in the centre of the room. Larry and Piper went and sat down in the corner of the room. 

 

Piper perked up when Alex entered the room. She saw a smile cross Alex’s face. She was about to walk over to where Piper and Larry were sitting. 

 

“Ah fuck it.” Larry said. Piper turned around about to question what Larry was talking about when he kissed her. 

 

He moved closer to Piper, embracing her in his arms. Piper was so startled that she had to take a minute to just register what was going on. 

 

When she pushed away from him, she looked directly over to where Alex was standing. She was still there, but Piper could see that she was upset. She looked hurt.

 

As Piper stood up Alex was pulled away by Nicky. 

 

“Come on, let’s go Vause.” Piper heard Nicky say. 

 

“What the fuck was that?” Piper yelled as she turned over to Larry. 

 

“Nothing I just thought- Why not?”

 

“Fuck.” Piper said as she fell back into her spot. 

 

Nicky had pulled Alex outside of the house. Nicky planned to just get Alex away from there, but she resisted.  
  
“I’m not going to leave because of what just happened. We’re just friends so whatever. There are tons of really hot girls in there, and I need to get laid or something.”   
  
Before Nicky could even reply Alex was already back in the house. 

 

Alex headed straight over to where the drinks were. She grabbed a shot glass and drank it right away. She then grabbed another one. 

 

She walked outside to where a ton of people were dancing. Pete had an extremely big house, with a giant backyard. 

 

There was this tall girl with long blond hair dancing with no one at the moment. Alex walked over to where she was and started to dance with the girl. She turned towards Alex. The girl put her hands onto Alex’s hips, and pulled her closer. 

 

Alex was unaware of how long the two of them had been dancing together for, but the next thing she knew she was inside on the stairway making out with the girl. 

 

“You are seriously really fucking hot” The girl said between breaths. 

 

“Why don’t we find somewhere more private?” Alex said as she pulled away. 

 

The girl just smiled, grabbed Alex’s hand, and made her way up the stairs. She opened the door to a random room and went in. Alex was about to follow when she heard someone call her name. 

 

She turned around to see Piper and Nicky standing there behind her.

 

“Alex what are you doing?” Piper questioned. 

 

“uh, I’m busy right now, I’ll see you two later.” Alex said as she turned back towards the room. This time no one stopped her from entering the room, closing the door behind her. 

 

“Shit Piper, I’m sorry. I didn’t know she would do this… It’s kind of unlike her. I mean, hooking up with girls not really… But she doesn’t ever like to get drunk. She likes to stay in control.” Nicky said as she put her arm around Piper. 

 

“No it’s- It’s my fault. Or Larry’s… We left it as us just being friends.”  


“Wait you and Larry? or Alex?”

 

“Alex.”

 

“Oh… ” 

 

“I think I’m going to go find Polly, or Sarah or… Anyone.” Piper said as she walked towards the stairs. 

 

Nicky had seen Alex do stupid things before, but she had never seen Alex do something to hurt someone she cared about; Not intentionally anyway. 

 

She rolled her eyes, and then opened the door to the room that Alex and the blonde were.   
  
“What the fuck?” Alex said as she looked over to the open door. 

 

“Sorry to interrupt this… but thankfully you still have some clothes on…” Nicky said as she threw over two shirts that were laying on the ground. Nicky then took the blonde girl and sort of pushed her out of the room. 

 

Nicky had to stop Alex from leaving the room. 

 

“What the hell do… you want?” 

 

“Since when the fuck did you get drunk like this?” Nicky said as she closed the door rather forcefully. 

 

“I don’t know, I’m just here to have a fucking good time. Why is that so fucking hard to… do?”

 

“Look I know seeing Piper being kissed by Larry sucked but it really wasn’t her fa-“ Alex cut her off. 

 

“Who the fuck said Piper had anything to do… with this? Am I not allowed to hook up with someone? Jesus, I’m really fucking tired… of people saying everything I do ends up being about Piper. Can’t I just do something because I fucking want to?”

 

“I know you don’t want to admit anything-“

 

“Admit what? The two of us are friends and that’s fucking it.”

 

“Okay Alex I’m seriously tired with this fucking shit. I understand that you don’t want to even think that you could actually like someone, but you fucking do. I have known you for almost my entire life and I have never seen you take to anyone like this. Maybe not everything you do has to do with Piper, but this fucking does.”

 

“No Nicky It doesn’t have to do with-“

 

“No it does. And now you’re hurting Piper and yourself. Grow the fuck up and learn that having feelings is okay. Learn that people are meant to feel things.   
Now I’m going to go find Piper and take her home.” Nicky then walked out the door. 

 

Alex was really drunk, and she was so out of it. She didn’t actually realize how drunk she was until she tried to make it down the stairs. She almost fell down twice, but somehow caught herself. 

 

She saw Nicky and Piper heading towards the door. “Piper” Alex yelled as she reached the bottom of the stairs. 

 

Piper turned towards Alex, not knowing weather to go over to her or ignore her. Instead she just stood there, waiting for Alex. 

 

“Piper I need to… Sorry… I just… You and Larry and It sucked…” Alex was having a hard time trying to say what she meant.  _I only had two shots… right?… or maybe three… Fuck why cant I remember…_  “You’re…”

 

“Alex how much did you have to drink?” Piper asked as she brought Alex over the stairs and sat her down, Nicky following. 

 

“I can’t… don’t know…” 

 

“Okay Alex you’re staying at my place.” Nicky said. “Piper can you stay with her while I go grab my car? I’ll be like, ten minutes.” 

 

“Yeah yeah, for sure.” Piper stood up and ran over to the kitchen and got a huge glass of water. she walked back to where Alex was and gave her the glass. “Here, drink this.” 

 

Alex took the glass and took a big sip of the water. She rested her head against the wall beside her, and looked at Piper. 

 

Piper sat down beside her, and the two of them sat and stared into each others eyes. Larry then appeared, breaking the moment between the two. 

 

“Piper is everything okay here?” He asked. 

 

“Yeah everything is fine.” 

 

“What are.., you doing here?” Alex asked with an edge to her voice. 

 

“I’m Piper’s date.”

 

“Yeah well… Don’t make a move… on her… or uh. Fuck you.” Alex said as she stood up slowly. 

 

“Look you’re really drunk so you don’t know what your talking about. Piper and I came here together.”

 

“But she doesn’t… And I like…” Alex really had no idea why she decided to do this, but she punched Larry right in the face. 

 

“Alex!” Piper yelled as she stood up. She had no idea weather she should go over to Alex or Larry, so she just sort of stood in the middle of them. 

 

Larry held his hand up to his face. He then checked for blood. There wasn’t a lot, but he was bleeding a bit. Larry had had a few drinks himself, although nothing as strong as what Alex had had that night. The next thing he knew he punched Alex back. 

 

Alex was having a hard enough time standing on her own, that the second she got hit, she lost her balance. 

 

“Shit. What the fuck was that for?” Piper yelled. 

 

“She fucking punched me first.” Larry yelled back. “You know, fuck you.” He said as he went to get his jacket. 

 

“Fuck Al, are you okay?”

 

“Ow.” Alex mumbled as she sat up, blood running down her face. 

 

“Well what the hell happened here?” Nicky said as she brushed passed all the people staring in the way. 

 

“Larry happened.”

 

“Shit, well we really need to get her out of here.” Nicky said as she helped Alex up. 

 

The three of them walked out and into Nicky’s car. They rushed out so quickly that none of them had time to put their coats on. Piper had taken off her sweater so that Alex could use it to stop the blood from getting everywhere. 

 

“You wan’t me to take you home Piper?” Nicky asked. 

 

“Uh no. No I don’t want to leave her.” 

 

“Okay sure. You can stay with her.” 

 

“Thanks.”   
  
It took almost no time for them to get to Nicky’s house. The two of them helped Alex out of the car and into the house. 

  
“She do you think she just drank too much or did someone slip something into one of her drinks?” Piper asked as they put Alex into bed. 

 

“Who the fuck knows. Maybe that girl she was with kept giving her drinks and Alex didn’t really realize how much she was drinking. Or she slipped her something.” Nicky made sure Alex was comfortable in bed before bringing Piper outside to talk at a normal tone. “Look, I’m really fucking stoned right now and I wont be much help with Alex, so you can take care of her yeah?”

 

“Of course, yeah.” 

 

“Great.” Nicky then walked back into the room where Alex was. “You are barley conscious right now, but just know I’m here for you and so is Piper. Well, mainly Piper’s here for you. Get some fucking rest. Love you dude.” Nicky kissed Alex’s forehead before leaving the room. “oh and there’s some sort of bucket in the bathroom. I’m sure it’ll be needed.”

 

“Okay thanks.”

 

Piper went and got a bucket and put it beside the bed. She also got a cloth towel and cleaned up the blood that Alex was covered in. She then took a chair and put it beside the bed.

 

“… Piper?” Alex mumbled so quietly Piper could barley hear. 

 

“Yeah?”

 

 “I… I like you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa right!? 
> 
> I'd love to know what you think!


	11. I can't remember what happened

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we will find out the repercussions of what happened last chapter... I think it's quite exciting what happens, and i hope you all find it exciting too!

 

"I still think someone slipped something in her drink. I swear it was that girl she was with." Piper said as she sipped her tea.

"There are many options as to what happened. I personally think she just drank way too much."

_Polly- hey Pipes… I'm still at Pete's and in need of a pick up. Would you mind?_

_Piper- yeah for sure. I'm near by anyway, i'll be there in five._

"Can I borrow your car? I need to pick up a friend at Pete's house."

"Oh yeah go head, just make sure you bring it back."

* * *

Piper had gotten out of the car, and entered Pete's house to get Polly. She found her in the living room, laying on the couch. It looked like she had been waiting for ages.

"oh thank god you are here. Come on lets get out of here quickly." Polly said as she jumped up.

"Okay go. The cars right outside."

The two were on their way out when Piper noticed the blonde girl Alex was with down the hall.

"Go wait in the car, I'll be right out." Piper said as she headed in the direction of the girl. "Hey, what the hell did you do to my friend last night?"

"Uh, who? Also who are you?"

"My friend Alex. Tall, black hair, glasses."

"oh her… yeah the hot one. I just gave her a little something to make her feel better."

"What!? Why the hell did you do that?" Piper said rather loudly.

"She looked like she needed something to cheer her up. She kept talking about some girl named Piper. She seemed hurt, I just thought I'd help with that."

"Yeah well fuck you." Piper said. She then left and raced out into the car, and drove away.

"You seem pretty pissed. Everything okay?" Polly asked

"No. This blonde bitch just did something stupid to Alex."

"Wait. Did she have pale blue eyes, wearing a grey top and black skinny jeans with rips in them? Dark eye liner?"

"She was… yeah…"

"Oh."

"Polly, do you know this girl?"

"Well… She's Pete's sister." Before Piper could have any kind of reaction, Polly continued. "And I slept with Pete."

"You what?" Piper yelled. "Did you seriously do that? What the fuck."

"It didn't mean anything. Why do you think I was in so much of a rush to get out of there?"

Piper wasn't really angry at Polly at all. She just felt like she needed to be angry at someone.

"You had sex with Pete?" Piper said so loudly she practically yelled.

"It was nothing. He's a nice guy, and he's hot, but I don't know… It was just a one time thing."

"Yeah there seems to be a lot of one time things happening these days."

Piper pulled up to Polly's house, remembering that she lived on the same street the Nicky lives on. "So why did I need to drive you? It's like a ten minute walk."

"I didn't need Pete knowing I live within walking distance of his house…" She paused and looked down at her feet. "I also couldn't find my shoes anywhere."

* * *

About an hour and a half later Piper arrived at Nicky's house. Her and Polly had spoken for ages about what had happened last night. Piper had almost forgotten that she had to go back to Nicky's house.

When Piper walked in the front door, she heard more then one voice. She went into the TV room, hoping that Alex would be there. She wasn't.

"Hey you finally made it back!" Nicky said. "I almost thought you forgot about me."

"I got distracted." Piper sat down on the couch beside Nicky. "Why the hell do they look like each other?" She asked.

"It's a clone show. It's actually quite good."

"Huh. Looks weird."

"Yeah well, that's what they all say at first."

Nicky had just started the show when Piper came in.

It had been hours since Piper sat down on the couch, and she only ever got up to get food or go to the bathroom.

"Okay wow this is really fucking good." Piper said as she came back into the room with a bowl of popcorn.

"Right? Now come one, there's only two episodes left in season one."

Nicky and Piper had never spent much time alone together, and so at first it was sort of awkward. But about 6 episodes later they seemed to have become more comfortable with each other.

They laughed and talked about things, and even started to get to know one another during their small intermissions.

Alex had woken up about half an hour before she decided to get out of bed and go downstairs. She had very little memory from the night before, and she was very disorientated.

She made her way down the stairs. The TV was fairly loud, so she just followed the noise while holding her hand to her head. The noise was not making her head feel any better. Alex saw Nicky and Piper sitting on the couch together, looking like they were really enjoying each others company. Alex found it hard to not laugh because Nicky's hair looked like the hair on the person on the screen. A big, blonde, mane of hair.

Alex stood and watched them for a while. She loved seeing her best friend and Piper actually talking together like friends. She rarely saw them act like they were friends.

"Okay the last episode get's crazy. You ready?" Nicky said holing the remote.

"I am so fucking ready, but I'm hungry. How about we order some pizza?"

"Pizza sounds fantastic right now."

Piper stood up to get the phone to order. She turned around and saw Alex standing there. "Al! hey! You're up."

Alex just smiled at Piper.

"Holy shit you are. You feeling okay?" Nicky said as she turned around.

"I'm fine, mostly. Seems like I had a crazy night huh?"

Nicky nodded, and so did Piper.

"I have tons of questions, but uh, why does may face hurt so much?"

Piper had no idea to say this subtly, so she decided to just go ahead and say it directly. "You punched Larry for kissing me… and then he punched you back."

Nicky burst out laughing. "I'm sorry I'm just so not over how that actually happened."

"Shit." Alex said as she walked over to the couch and sat down. "Maybe that explains why my hand hurts as well…"

It was quite for a second.

"So another question; Where the fuck are my glasses?"

* * *

"How the hell did Polly end up with them?" Alex asked.

"Pete apparently found them in his room and told Polly to try them on. She then just put them into her pocket." Piper replied.

"Thank god she lives so close. Now i'll be able to see again."

"How's your head?"

"Better. Things are less hazy, and I don't have much of a hangover anymore, and my face still really hurts." Alex had a small cut under her eye where Larry had punched her.

Piper put her hand on Alex's cheek and ran her thumb right under the cut. Alex flinched at the pain.

The two of them stared into each others eyes. All Piper could think about was what Alex had said to her last night.  _I like you._  She had no idea if Alex even remembered what she had said, but thought it was very unlikely.

"So did I do anything stupid?" Alex asked breaking the silence.

"If you want to call hooking up with a girl who drugged you stupid then…" Piper said jokingly.

"Shut up." Alex lightly pushed Piper. "If someone slipped drugs into your drink then I think you would do some stupid things too."

"So what do you remember?"

"I remember… You and Larry kissing and then leaving and talking to Nicky. Uh, I then rushed back into the house and after that it's all just fuzzy. I think I pissed off Nicky. I remember yelling." Alex paused. "Then I remember getting into bed, although that's still sort of confusing to me. And then I woke up."

Alex was worried that she had done something or said something to Piper that she couldn't remember doing. She was worried that Piper wasn't going to tell her if she did.

She just wished she could remember.

"Here you go Vause." Nicky walked in handing Alex her glasses.

"Thanks." She put them onto the bridge of her nose. She felt a bit more pressure on her nose, making her take them off. "It still hurts."

"It's getting late and my parents still don't really know where I am, so I better leave soon.

"Do you need a lift?" Nicky asked.

"I can take the bus, but thanks. We need to watch season two soon!" Piper said.

"Yeah for sure. I look forward to it."

"Bye. and bye Alex. I hope you feel better." Piper walked into the hall and put on her shoes and coat. She opened to door and stepped out. Alex walked over to her and stepped outside with her.

"Fuck it's cold." She said.

"We can go inside if you want." Piper suggested.

"No I just need to ask you something. You would tell me if I did or said anything to you, right?"

"Al its too cold to talk about this right now. I can talk about it tomorrow or something."

"No Pipes, I need to know."

"Then let's talk about it inside, or at my place or something."

"Okay fine. lets go to your place."

Alex walked into the house. Ten minutes later she walked back out.

* * *

It was a fairly quick bus ride to Pipers. Alex was very tired and she rested her head on Pipers shoulder the whole time, neither of them really speaking.

When they finally got inside the headed into Pipers room and sat on the bed.

"Look Alex, you did say something, but you were really out of it and although a part of me hopes you meant it, i'm not going to think much about it because again, you were really out of."

"What did I say?"

"You told me… You said… That you liked me."

Alex was silent. She looked away from Piper. She really hated not remembering.

"It's fine. You were out of it."

"Piper I- " Alex really thought she was going to tell Piper that she did like her. Piper even thought there was a chance that she would say it, but Alex couldn't get herself to say it. "- Have to go."

She stood up and got out of there as fast as she could.

* * *

Alex got home as fast as she could. She was looking forward to spending sometime alone in her room.

Her mother was home reading a book on the couch when she walked in.

"Hey, rough night?" Diane said as she put the book down. "Oh Alex are you okay?"

"Yeah. It was a long night and I got punched and well… yeah."

"What the fuck were you doing?"

"I may have punched him first…"

"Why the fuck would you do that? Was he asking for it or what?"

"There's this girl… and he made a move on her… I wasn't even really aware of what I was doing but apparently I punched him."

"Apparently?"

"I had a drink or two, and this bitch slipped me something in one of them or something. I can't really remember."

"Fuck Alex. I thought I told you to be more careful about things like that."

"I know and I sort of fucked up, but it's fine. Nicky and Piper were there for me, so really i'm fine."

"Well you should probably wash that sweater, there's blood all over it."

"I will yeah."

"Where'd you even get that anyway?"

Alex looked down to the grey sweater she was wearing. She knew it wasn't her's or Nicky's. It was Pipers.

* * *

_2:30am_

"Fuck there are no lights on." Alex was standing outside of Piper's house.

Alex didn't like doing anything cliche or something that you would see in a movie, but she needed to see Piper.

She walked around the house to where she could see Pipers room. She picked up a few small pebbles and threw them at Pipers window. The first few she threw missed the window completely. After a while she finally got the hang of it.

Piper had heard to noise and gone to look through her window. She saw Alex standing there. Alex gestured to the front door.

Piper threw on a sweater and walked down to the front door. She opened it to see Alex standing outside.

"Alex it's late."

"I know, but this is important."

"Okay well come inside."

"No come outside."

Piper went inside to get her coat and shoes. She went back outside and closed the door behind her. "What's this about?"

"I wanted to tell you something. I'm really bad at expressing my feelings and it turns out I'm not bad at expressing them when I'm drunk… or whatever… But I do."

"You do what?" Piper was still quite tired.

"I do like you. In fact I like you a lot."

A huge smile crossed Pipers face. Alex took Pipers hand in her own, and started to walk.

The two walked down the street hand in hand.

"I like your sweater." Piper said to Alex.

She laughed a bit, remembering that she never changed out of the bloody sweater. She then looked over to Piper and noticed she was wearing the dark red and black plaid hoodie. "I like yours too."

Piper had gotten so use to wearing it, that she almost forgot that she meant to give it back to Alex.

"So what are we even doing anyways? Where are we going?" Piper asked.

"We're going on our first date."


	12. Who goes on a date at three in the morning?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your wonderful comments, they seriously make my day!   
> But anyway where did we leave off?... Oh yeah, their first date!

 

_3:00 am_

It was a cold night in December, and Alex had her arm around Pipers should, keeping her close for warmth.

The two of them had walked into what was normally a busy part of the city. There was almost no one around, but the lights on a lot of the buildings were still on.

"Al are you sure it's safe around here?"

"Yeah, we aren't going that far anyway."

Alex lead Piper to a tall building which they entered. Piper had no idea if there were allowed in, but she didn't question it this time.

They took the elevator up to the top floor. They then walked down the hall to where a service door was. The entered it, and walked up a small flight up the stairs and walked through the door that lead them outside.

The view from the top of the building was amazing. They could see the lights of the city in front of them, and the quiet neighbourhood behind them. They could see almost all of Manhattan from that one spot.

"Wow, Al this beautiful." Piper said as she walked closer to the edge of the building.

"Isn't it? I come up here to get away from people. Nicky knows about it, but i've never taken her up here."

"Are we even allowed up here?" Piper said as she turn back to Alex.

"You really think I'd take you somewhere we could get in trouble?" She said as she stepped closer to Piper.

The two of them were only inches apart. The two looked longingly into each others eyes. "Actually, yeah."

Alex smiled and pulled away. "Well then maybe you don't know me as well as you think." She walked over to the corner of the roof, beside the wall where the door was. "My mom works in the restaurant downstairs and she got the key to up here. Don't ask me how, I'm still not sure on the details and I'm not sure I want to know."

Piper walked over to where Alex was standing. "Is this where you normally sit?"

"It is, yeah." Alex sat down beside the ledge. "Come sit." She said patting the spot beside her.

Piper sat down beside Alex. She noticed how set up this area was. Piper then realized just how much time she spent here. The blankets, the light, the books. There was even a box of pop tarts. "Look's like you've really got a whole thing set up here."

"Yeah. I use to be here all the time. No one ever comes up here so I was able to really have my own place here."

"It's freezing up here."

Alex pulled one of the many blankets she had over the two of them. She put her arm around Piper and pulled her closer.

The warmth that radiated off of Alex felt nice. It made Piper feel safe with her.

"So what's with the pop tarts?" Piper asked as she reached for the box.

"They taste good."

Piper opened the box and pulled one out. It was frosted brown sugar, which Piper had never had before. She bit down into it and moaned because it tasted so good. "This really does taste good."

"If I had known you would make that sound I would have offered you one ages ago."

"Shut up." Piper said as she took another bite. "So, am I really the first person you have taken up here?"

"Maybe…"

"Is Alex Vause secretly a soft romantic person? Because this is really, really romantic."

The two of them sat and spoke for hours. They spent the time getting to know each other. They had always enjoyed their time together, but this time it seemed like they enjoyed it even more.

"So what made you want to be my friend?" Alex asked more bluntly then she would have liked.

"I don't know. I mean, at first you looked kind of like an asshole-stoner but just the way you spoke, even if it was a few words to Sarah and Kathryn, there was just something about it. There was something in the tone of your voice."

"So it wasn't because you thought I was hot? Damn."

Piper laughed. "You wish."

The sun was starting to come up, and it just occurred to Piper that she had been up all night. She also snuck out of the house. If her parents woke up with her gone they would probably kill her.

She looked or her phone when she realized she never brought it. "Fuck, what time is it?"

"It's uh, 6:40" Alex said looking over at her clock.

"Shit you really do have everything you need here."

"Well now that you're here, I do." Alex said with a huge smile on her face. She had never thought of herself to be a particularly soft person, but Piper seemed to really bring that out in her.

"You are so adorable."

A breeze of cold air took the two by surprise, making Alex feel very cold. "Fuck it's cold."

"Really? I still feel quite warm."

Piper put her arm around Alex's waist, and moved even closer to Alex.

"Well I feel a little warmer now."

The sun was more visible then it was just a few minutes ago making Piper realize that she really needed to get home. "Shit Al I really need to get home. My parents are going to kill me if I'm not there when they wake up."

"Uh yeah okay."

The two of them stood up and walked down into the building. They held hands the entire way to Pipers house.

When they finally got their, they stood outside for a while, Piper standing on the first step to her house to meet Alex's hight.

"I had a really fun time." Piper said.

"Me too, I hope we can do this again."

Piper gave Alex a kiss on the cheek and then walked inside.

* * *

"You actually wore a sweater covered in blood on your first date? Wow, talk about class."

"I was still a little out of it when I went over there, but she didn't mind. She actually found it quite amusing."

"So I assume you will be going to less parties, and going on more date's huh?"

"I don't know, but I do know I'm done with parties for now."

Nicky and Alex were at the coffee shop getting their coffee. The two had gone so often it became a habit. Every day they would go there and talk, just the two of them. Alex liked being with Piper, but she always loved the time she had alone with Nicky.

Alex sighed and leaned her head back. "Fuck I have class with Sarah today. I so do not want to deal with her this morning."

"Can't be as bad as that new friend of Piper's. She sticks her nose in everything."

"Oh god don't get me started on her. I mean, she just rubs me the wrong way."

"Jealous she might steal Piper away?"

"Don't be ridiculous." Alex knew there was a small part of her that was worried that Piper would just ditch her to be friends with Polly, although she just wanted to ignore that thought.

"Well, have fun with all of them!" Nicky said as the two walked away from each other.

* * *

Piper was running late for first period. It was the last week of school before the break, so she knew she wasn't going to be missing much, but she hated being late for class.

As she got closer to class she remembered that she would be seeing Alex. That got her more excited. She entered the room looking straight to the back of the room. A small part of her was worried that Alex wouldn't be there.

She wasn't there.

Before Piper could walk into the room disappointed, an arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her back.

"Miss me?" Alex's voice whispered into Piper's ear.

Piper grinned. Her disappointment turned into happiness the second she felt Alex behind her.

She turned around and came face to face with Alex. Before she could answer someone pulled her out of Alex's hold and into the class room.

"Sarah what the hell?"

"Well what the hell is that?" Sarah said pointing in the direction of Alex.

"Look, what the fuck is your problem with her?" Piper said as she sat down in her desk. She watched as Alex made her way into the room.

"My problem is the fact that she is a fucking bitch."

"Yeah, and how the fuck would you know anything about her?"

"I just do." Sarah stopped for a second. "did you even see her at the party the other night?" She mumbled. Piper didn't hear.

"Okay well you don't. Your only problem with her is the fact that she's a girl."

Sarah was silent. That was exactly why she didn't like Alex and Piper together. From the second she found out that Alex was gay she hated her a lot. She stood up and walked over to where Alex was sitting.

"Can I help you?" Alex said looking up a the girl.

"Yeah you can stay the fuck away from my friend."

"Seriously? What the hell did I ever do to you?"

"You are trying to turn my best friend into a lesbian."

Alex rolled her eyes at that.

"Is there a problem here ladies?" The teacher said as her stood up from his desk.

"There's no problem here." Alex replied.

"Good. I would hate to give you two detention just before the holidays." He sat back down.

"Fucking dyke." Sarah muttered under her breath as she sat back at her desk.

Alex had learned to ignore slurs like that. Even before she came out she had people call her 'dyke.' Some would even call her 'gay' as in insult. She had learned to ignore it, and actually embrace it. She learned to be proud of who she was.

Polly and Kathryn had walked in about halfway through class.

"hey!" Polly said sitting down. "Kathryn and I were just talking about the plans for over the holiday. We were thinking about having a massive fucking party at her cottage up in Canada."

"Yeah it's super big and my parents are going away to Italy or somewhere so we would have the place all to ourselves." Kathryn added.

"How can we have a party if we don't know anyone in fucking Canada?" Sarah asked.

"I know tons of people there. A lot of cute boys too." Kathryn winked at Piper.

Piper looked over to Alex who was watching their conversation. She didn't want to screw things up with Alex the second they had just gotten together. "I don't know guys, my parents may not be cool with it and-"

"Lies! Your parents would be totally cool with it. You are coming." Kathryn insisted.

"Yeah Piper, you have to come. Pleaasse" Polly begged.

Piper turned to Alex. "Would you consider coming?"

"Hey no one said she could come!" Sarah snapped.

"I don't know Pipes…" Alex said looking rather uncomfortable.

Both Polly and Kathryn were unsure on how to act. Kathryn didn't know Alex at all, but she had been a pretty big bitch towards her. Polly still wasn't sure how she felt about her.

The bell rang and everybody in the class got up and raced out of class. Alex pulled Piper aside in the hall.

"Look, as much fun as it would be to go with you and uh… those people, I can't afford it. Plane tickets are fucking expensive."

"Oh…" Piper hesitated. "What if we were to drive? Take a road trip."

"Unless you have a car you've been hiding…"

"Nicky could come."

"I can check but-"

"but what?" Piper had a look of disappointment on her face. She did want to go on this trip with her friends, but she also didn't want to go without Alex.

"Me and your friends don't really get along. I'm not sure spending time with them outside of school will really go."

"Look Al, they are my friends, and I would really appreciate it if you could try to be friends with them. I know it's hard, especially with Sarah, but they are nice people. Trust me."

"Okay I'll try. I said I'd try with Polly right?"

Piper was silent. Alex did say she would try to be nice to her, but it didn't seem like any of that was really happening. The two didn't seem any friendlier then before. "Right."

"I'll talk to Nicky and see about it."

"Thank you." Piper said. "I seriously have to get to class, I can't be late two classes in a row."

Alex watched Piper walk away. Once she was out of sight, she headed to her own class.

_Why the hell was I seated next to Sarah of all people?_  Alex thought as she sat down.

"I'm going to hand out your test and once everyone has one you can begin." The teacher said as she started to hand out the test.

_Fuck there's a test?_ Alex thought as the teacher put the test right in front of her.  _I should pay attention more._

* * *

Alex finished her test around the same time everybody else did. There were a few kids who were still writing when she finished though. She went up and put the paper onto the teachers desk and then sat back down.

"fuck" she mumbled, thinking she completely failed the test.

The room was fairly silent until everyone was done their test. Once the room got loud, Sarah turned to talk to Alex, who was reading a book.

"hey four eyes." Sarah said.

Alex didn't reply.

"Look, I don't like you and you don't like me, fine. I wont bother you anymore because of Piper. But you better stay the fuck out of my way."

"Is that a threat?" Alex said as she looked over.

Sarah rolled her eyes and looked down to her phone.

_Sarah- this Alex bitch is a really pain in my ass_

_Kathryn- I don't think she's that bad… Just try to be civil with her._

* * *

"So you two are like a thing now?"

"We went on a date, yes."

"and…?"

"And we need to define the relationship still, but whatever. That's a whole other thing."

"Right. But okay tell me all about it." Polly said overly excited.

"It was nice. Nothing over the top or anything."

"Really? That's all you have to say about that?"

"It was… So romantic." Piper thought back to that night. Thought back to the amazing view and the warmth of Alex.

"Well that's surprising."

"And what does that mean?"

"Look, she seems nice enough, and she's nice to you, I just get a bad vibe off of her."

"She's hard to really get to know, but once you do you will like her."

"Don't count on it." Polly mumbled.

Piper just ignored it, not wanting to really get into anything.

* * *

After a long day, Alex headed home. Nicky had decided to ditch school after lunch, leaving Alex take the bus home.

Things seemed to be happening quickly now. It didn't take Alex long to get home. She so wanted to get home.

When she got in she kicked off her boots and went straight to the kitchen. She pulled down a box of cereal and put it into a bowl. She then went and sat on her couch. She turned on some music.

She took out her phone and opened the unread message.

_Piper- Next time I get to plan out date._

Alex had needed a something to make her forget the day she had, and the text from Piper did exactly that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does this mean a second date in the next chapter!?
> 
> (Also if anyone was wondering, Alex passed her test with a78%!)


	13. Thursdays night's date night.

Nicky was up for the adventure. So there was no problem getting her to say yes.

Alex being able to go, as well as actually agreeing to it, made Piper super happy. She knew Alex and Sarah had issues together, and she was aware that Polly had issues with Alex, but she hoped that with time, they would all end up liking each other.

First, they had to get passed the last week of school.

Piper had first period alone with Sarah. The two were still friendly enough, but thing's were getting a little awkward.

They both had to speak about what was on their minds, but Sarah didn't trust Piper much anymore. And Piper was too scared of what Sarah could say.

"So how do you think you did on your Science test yesterday?" Sarah asked, trying to clear the awkward silence.

"God I hope I did okay. I didn't get much studying in on Sunday, I was so tired because I was with Al-" Piper stopped talking.

"You were with Alex… Your  _girlfriend_ …"

"Sarah I really need you to be honest with me here, what is your problem with her?"

"I just don't like her, okay? Am I allowed to not like someone?"

"Yeah you are, but you need to stop being such a bitch to her. I like her, and I would like it if you didn't scare her away."

"Look I already spoke to her about this, and I think we agreed to try and be civil with each other."

"Thank you."

The two of them spoke casually about what they were planning on doing over the break, as well as planning their trip. The two kept trying to not bring up Alex, but for Piper it was hard. Alex had become a huge part of Pipers life.

* * *

Day two had to be Piper's favourite day. She got to spend a lot of time alone with Alex. Since Polly had arrived though, she seemed to have less and less time with her, so periods two and four were her favourite. Piper really liked Polly, but sometimes she was a bit too loud for Piper's liking.

Piper really liked history, so she would always be happy to go to her next class. She knew Alex really wasn't a fan of it, so whenever she didn't show in class, she wasn't surprised.

She walked into class hoping that Alex would be there, but seeing as about half the class wasn't there, she knew Alex wouldn't be there either.

It was too cold out for Piper to even consider ditching class, so she just sat at her desk and played games on her phone.

_Alex- Sorry i'm not there. I slept in… Miss you._

A huge smile crossed Pipers face.

_Piper- Miss you too. Will I see you at lunch?_

_Alex- I'm hanging out with Nicky. I'll see you in fourth period._

_Piper- okay fine…_

* * *

Alex was picked up by Nicky, and the two of them went to a cafe away from the school.

"Look I'm all prepared to drive up into fucking Canada, but you two better make it bearable to be in that car."

"I'll try."

"great this'll be fun…"

"Won't it?"

"I just really fucking hope it doesn't end up being us stuck in a cabin in the middle of nowhere with some sort of serial killer on the loose."

"I think you've seen too many horror movies." Alex leaned back in her chair in sipped her coffee. She had really missed times like this with Nicky. She missed when things were simple. "I miss you."

"Yeah well I doubt you miss fucking Christy." Nicky rolled her eyes. "You know she come's up to me every day and asks me how you are doing."

"Holy shit, really? Man, that girl is weird. I said hi to her once in the hall."

"I know, and know since you are gone she think's we are best friends. I only have one class with her this year. Thank god."

"I feel bad for you, although you don't have Sarah in you school."

"Ah yes Sarah. You know I'm actually really curious to meet this girl. Is she hot?"

"Her personality is too unattractive for me to even find her remotely attractive."

"Damn, so she is super hot."

"Just wait until you meet her."

"Speaking of that, do you know when we leave?" Nicky asked.

"Uh I think after Christmas. We are supposed to be there for new years eve or something."

* * *

Alex raced to class as she was fifteen minutes late. She had promised her teacher that she would hand in her art project on time.

"Shit." Alex said she ran into the principal in the school.

"And what are you doing running in the hall? Why aren't you in class?" He asked.

"I uh- I forgot my project in my locker."

"But you were running."

Alex didn't have a good explanation for that.

"I think you should come to my office while we get you a detention slip."

 _fuck_.

"Okay I was late for class and I was running in the hall because I was late." Alex said to him just before he started to walk.

"I see. well I'm glad you were honest with me, but I still think detention is where you are going to be after school for the rest of the week." He started walking to his office, Alex following.

She waited as a detention slip got filled out.

"Room 221 after school. Now get to class."

Alex took the slip and headed to her class. She was walking down the hall when her phone buzzed.

_Piper- Are you coming?_

She got to the class and snuck in through the back door. Alex always loved how most of her class rooms had two doors. One in the front of the room where the teachers desk is, and one in the back.

"Sorry I'm late." She said as she sat down at the table Piper was at.

"It's fine." Piper was concentrating on her drawing.

"I still can't believe you are taking an art class."

"I sort of regret it." Piper replied.

Alex went to the front of the room and handed her work to the teacher. She didn't comment on how she was late.

"What are you doing Thursday after school? I thought we could do something." Piper asked as she finally looked up.

"I have detention from 3 until 4, but after that I'm free."

"Detention?" Piper said loudly.

"Yeah that's sort of why I'm really late. I was running late already and then I ran into the principal."

Piper started to laugh. "Seriously? Good job there."

"I would like to see you talk your way out of detention."

"Hopefully I wont have to even try. Besides, doesn't look like you did a great job talking your way out."

"Yeah." Alex sighed. "Anyway, what were you thinking about Thursday?"

"I was thinking about going to movie and going out for dinner."

"So is this going to be our second date?" Alex raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe." Piper smiled and then looked back down to her sketchbook.

"I'm already looking forward to it." Alex said as she put her arm around Pipers waist.

Piper wasn't huge on public display of affection, but she liked the small thing's Alex did, so she learned to ignore what people could think.

* * *

_Thursday._

Alex was in a hurry to get home after detention. She knew this date wasn't going to be some fancy thing, but she didn't want to look as bad as she realized she looked last time.

She put on a nice pair of black jeans, a grey sweater that was extremely soft, and new leather converse that she had bought a few weeks ago. She grabbed her black leather jacket, and headed out the door.

"Fuck it's cold." She said as she stepped outside.

Nicky was outside waiting for her. She got into the passenger seat. "thanks for driving me there. I sort of fucked up with the whole detention thing."

"Yeah you did, but going to class isn't much fun. I don't blame ya."

Nicky drove away.

She eyed Alex, and a smile formed on her face. "I didn't know you own a pair of jeans that didn't have and rips in them. Or that you ever did much to your hair- well, other then dye it."

"Shut up." Alex playfully hit Nicky's arm.

"And the make-up. You always do a killer job with your eyeliner, but wow. You are really going all out for this girl and it's only your second date."

"I want to do a better job then a blood stained sweater."

"That is still so funny to me."

They pulled up to the corner where the theatre was. Thankfully Piper had chosen to go to a theatre that wasn't in a particularly busy area.

Alex hopped out of the car.

"Tell Piper I say hi." Nicky said as Alex closed the door shut. She waved goodbye and drove away.

Alex made her way inside the theatre and waited for Piper. She leaned against a wall, looking down at the black and white checkered floor.

"hey" Piper said as she walked up Alex.

"Hey!" Alex stood up straight the second she saw Piper.

"You look…" Piper just stood and stared at Alex.

"You don't look half-bad yourself." Alex replied.

Piper was wearing black skinny jeans, a black belt, a white v-neck shirt. She had taken off her peacoat the second she got inside.

"Well your shirt is a step up from my blood-stained sweater." Piper laughed. "But it was charming."

"Right, because your pyjamas were soo much better."

"They were." The two started walking towards the ticket booth. "Okay I have an exciting movie picked out for us to see."

"Wait are we going to the movie first?"

"Mhmm." Piper said as she smiled at the girl working at the booth. "Two tickets for The Vow please."

"That'll be $24.75" The cashier said.

Before Piper could get out her wallet to pay, Alex took out some money, and handed it to the cashier.

They got their tickets and headed into the theatre.

"Okay but who the hell goes to the movie and  _then_  dinner?" Alex teased Piper.

"It's smart way to go about things, okay? I mean, if you have nothing to talk about at dinner, then you can talk about the movie!"

"Okay well now i'm hurt."

"Ha ha." Piper walked up the stairs and stepped down into an isles. "Oh watch your-"

Alex didn't realize that there was a step down, and she fell forward. She luckily caught herself by getting a hold of one of the chairs in the row in front of her.

"-Step." Piper continued.

"Right." Alex started to laugh.

Piper stood there and laughed at Alex.

"Okay okay start walking." Alex pushed Piper to started walking.

They sat down in the middle of the row. There weren't many people in the audience.

"So why are we going to see a movie that came out a few years ago? I mean, sometimes I would like to see a film that is new." Alex said as she put her jacket in the seat beside her.

"It just so happens it was playing here…"

"That can't be the only reason."

"Tatiana Maslany is in it… and I just figured…"

"That sounds like a better reason. Did you and Nicky ever finished your marathon or whatever?"

"No, we were actually planning on doing that soon."

A loud noise came on that startled the two of them.

"Shit. Why does that keep happening." Alex said.

"I guess we need to pay attention to the screen and not each other…"

"Because that is so much fun."

The movie began.

"What is this movie about anyway?" Alex whispered.

"Just watch it." Piper pushed Alex's face with her hand so she would be looking at the screen and not her.

"Fine." Alex sighed.

* * *

The two of them left the theatre, not commenting on the movie. The restaurant they were going to wasn't far away. It was about two blocks from the theatre, but it was cold outside. Not just cold, it was snowing.

"It's snowing!" Piper loved snow. She wasn't huge on the cold though, but she found snow so beautiful.

"Yeah." Alex looked up at the sky, and smiled. She looked over at Piper who was looking at her.

"Hey Alex."

"Yeah?"

"You're beautiful." Piper said before she walked up to her, and kissed her.

Alex smiled, and looked right into Piper's eyes when they pulled away.

The two walked to the restaurant hand in hand.

When they got there, the place was packed. The place was small and didn't look overly fancy, but apparently the food was good because it was almost all full.

"Uh hi, I have a reservation under Chapman." Piper said.

Alex was waiting a few feet away. Piper came back shortly and got Alex to go to their table.

"That was fast." Alex followed Piper to their table that was right by the window.

Alex went and pulled the chair out for Piper to sit down in. She then pushed the chair in, and sat down in her seat.

The server gave them their menus.

There was a silence between the two as they looked through their menus.

"So what'd you think of the movie?" Piper asked as she put the menu down.

"Fuck, you were right. It is a good conversation starter. " Alex joked. "I thought it was pretty good, I mean, as far as cheesy romantic movies go."

"I thought Tatiana needed more screen time.

"Of course. Man you have such a crush on her don't you?" Alex laughed.

"Who doesn't?"

Alex nodded her head in agreement.

* * *

The two of them ordered their food. It took a while for it to come, but that was okay. They really took the time to enjoy their conversation and each other. When the check came, Alex had reached for it, but Piper took it before she could get to it.

It took a minute or two of convincing, but Piper ended up paying for dinner.

"Fuck." Alex sighed as the two walked outside.

"What?"

"It's Thursday, that means I have to suffer in school for one more day."

"Uhm, Al?"

"Yeah?"

"There's no school tomorrow.'

Alex had forgotten that there was no school the next day. She had forgotten that the break had begun. That also meant that their trip was coming up quickly.

"hey, do you want to come over to my place?" Piper asked.

"Well what might we do there?" Alex said as she stepped forward.

"I don't know… We will have the whole place to ourselves…" Piper said taking Alex's hand as she started to walk towards the subway.

"Piper it's only our second- " Alex was cut off by Pipers mouth on hers.

* * *

Alex pushed Piper up against the front door of the house. Piper pulled away briefly to unlock the door. The second the door was opened they scrambled inside and started attacking each others mouths again.

Piper kicked the door shut, took off her coat and flung it onto the floor. "Wait wait wait." She said as she pulled away.

"What?"

"Shoes." Piper knelt down and untied her laces, then carefully put them beside other shoes that were there.

Alex did the same, but it looked like she had just kicked them off. She took off her jacket and put it on the coat rack. She also put Pipers coat there too.

"Way to be a mood kill." Alex said.

"Well let's continue this…" Piper replied kissing Alex softly on the lips. "Follow me." She then started walking into the house.

Alex followed her, but instead of going upstairs they went downstairs. Piper had been more ahead of Alex then she had realized.

"Come sit." Piper patted the empty spot on the couch beside her. Alex walked over and sat down leaning agains the arm rest, legs across Pipers lap.

"And what do you have planned now?"

"Just wait." Piper turned off the light that was beside her, and pressed play on the remote.

Alex didn't realize what they were watching until the opening credit had come on.

"Are you serious? All that to get me to watch this?" Alex said sitting up a bit.

"I just thought-"

"You just had to ask…" Alex leaned over and kissed Piper on the cheek, and sat back again.

Not only was it the first snowfall of the year, but it was also the first time someone had gotten Alex to sit down and watch Orphan Black.

It would be a night the two would remember for ages.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this was an exciting chapter!  
> And I know this whole trip to Canada seems like a bad idea... but trust me, it's extremely important for Alex to agree to do stupid things. It'll be worth it.


	14. Christmas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have really been enjoying reading reviews for this and it's awesome you guys are liking it! If you have any idea's for future chapters, let me know!  
> Anyway... I hope you enjoy this chapter!

 

_Christmas eve._

 

“Okay I haven’t seen you in about a week, but I swear you grew.” Alex said. 

 

“Well hey to you too.” Piper kissed Alex softly on the cheek. 

 

“You two are so cute!” Polly stepped into the apartment, and closed the door. 

 

“Hi Polly.” Alex walked back over to the couch where she was reading, and listening to music. 

 

“So uh, is it just us here tonight?” Polly asked. 

 

“Nicky is coming over too. She said her and Piper had picked a really good movie to watch tonight.” Alex answered.

 

“Oh we did. It’s super christmas-y.” Piper sat down on the couch beside Alex. 

 

“I look forward to it.” 

 

“Do you have any other music?” Polly asked as she rooted through Alex’s music. “It’s all weird rock stuff.”

 

“Excuse me?” Alex said as she stood up. 

 

“Hey maybe we should turn it off.” Piper suggested. 

 

“Yeah fine.” Alex turned off the speakers and shot Polly a glare.

 

Piper and Polly spoke while they waited for Nicky. Alex sat there and listened to their conversation and occasionally added in a word or too.

 

“Sorry I’m late.” Nicky said as she walked through the door. 

 

“Wait, was the door not locked?” Alex asked.

 

“Apparently not, but I know you don’t mind me barging in like this.” Nicky took off her shoes and coat as well as her backpack, and put them with the others.“Here catch.” She threw over a dvd case over to Alex. 

 

“Black Christmas?” Alex questioned. 

 

“What?” Nicky said as she sat down on the couch beside Alex. Piper and Polly were both on the floor. “It has the word christmas in the title… Seemed appropriate.”

 

“Right okay. Pipes you sure your okay to watch this?”  


“I should be fine. Besides, I’ve got you here to protect me.” Piper looked behind to Alex and smiled. 

 

Polly took the movie and put the dvd in the player. 

  
Alex’s mother was not able to afford a new Tv or cable, so whenever they wanted to watch something at her place, it would either have to be a dvd or one of the few channels they got. It was a miracle when they found a dvd player that actually worked with the Tv. 

 

“Wait don’t press play yet.” Piper hopped up and went into the kitchen. “we need popcorn.” She put a bag in the microwave and waited as it popped. She took the first bag out, and then put in a second. 

 

Piper had two bowls of popcorn in her hand. She handed one to Nicky and Alex, and kept the other for her and Polly. 

 

Polly pressed play. 

 

About 2 minutes into the movie Piper was already getting creeped out. “Fuck this is creepy.”

 

Polly moved over and rested her head on Pipers shoulder. She laughed a bit as Piper looked away. “It’s fine Piper.” 

 

For a while the movie was pretty calm and everyone was watching the movie contently, but it didn’t take long for Piper and Nicky to start getting creeped out. 

 

The first death had to be the scariest for Polly. It startled her so much that she had knocked over the bowl of popcorn. Piper and Polly both grabbed each other and hid their faces. 

 

Alex was paying more attention to Piper’s reactions to what was happening instead of the movie. 

 

“Are you even paying attention to what’s going on?” Nicky whispered to Alex.

 

“Yeah.” Alex replied as she looked up to the screen. 

 

“I’m sure you are.”

 

The movie was a pretty scary movie that it even had Alex a little scared at times. The scariest part of the movie for Alex had to be the phone calls. The creepy high pitched voice that repeated things and made no sense was so scary that when Piper’s phone rang Alex jumped a bit. 

 

“I’m totally not answering that.” Piper said as she sent the call to voicemail. 

 

“Okay the killers totally him. It’s totally the boyfriend.” Polly pointed to the screen. 

 

“No that’s way to fucking obvious. It doesn’t make sense for it to be him.” Nicky replied. 

 

“It totally makes sense to be him! He’s creepy enough, and he has a motive.” 

 

“Yeah but he didn’t before.” 

 

“He totally did. She never seemed to have much time for him and-“  


“Okay guys shut up and watch the movie.” Alex interrupted. 

 

The four of them continued to watch the movie. 

 

“Okay this is terrifying.” Piper said as she stood up. “Something’s gonna happen here and I’m going to go get something.” She walked over to a bag that she had brought over, and pulled out a box of candy canes. She then sat back down and handed them around. 

 

“Well you didn’t miss much.” Polly said as she took a candy cane. 

 

“Great.”

 

The movie was almost over, and most of them had gotten use to the scariness of the movie. Piper was getting use to it, but she would always anticipate the scare and flinch when she thought something would happen, but nothing did. 

 

“Were out of popcorn.” Alex said as she looked over to see if Piper and Polly still had some. They did. She reached down to grab the bowl when Piper stopped her.

 

“You can come down here if you want some.” 

 

Alex didn’t hesitate to get off the couch and sit beside Piper. Polly then moved on the couch, which was way more comfortable then the floor. 

 

“Hey.” Alex said. 

 

“Hey.” 

 

Alex started to lean forward, looking as if she was going in for a kiss, but instead she grabbed a few pieces of popcorn and put them in her mouth. She then took the bowl and put it on her lap.

 

Piper had thought she was going in for a kiss. “Oh aren’t you hilarious.” Piper hit Alex’s arm.

 

Alex put her arm around Piper, and watched the movie more intently then before.   


“Fuck!” Piper screamed as there was a shot of a dead body. She then covered her face with her hands. 

 

“You are real brave to have chosen this movie.” Alex said.

 

Piper hid her face for the rest of the movie, even though there wasn’t much left. When it ended she quickly jumped up and turned on the lights. “Thank fucking god you don’t live in some massive house. Nicky have fun going home tonight.” She said. 

 

“Oh I’m sure I will after that movie.” Nicky replied. 

 

“Shit it’s almost 12:30. I need to be getting home.” Polly stood up off the couch. “Piper do you need a lift?”

 

“That would be awesome, thanks.” 

 

“Wait, it’s Christmas! We need to exchange gifts.” Nicky said. 

 

“Yeah!” Alex agreed. 

 

“That movie scared me so much I actually forgot.” Piper walked over with a bag that had gifts that people had put in there during the last week of school. They decided they were going to do a secret santa type thing. 

 

Alex walked over to where a small christmas tree was and turned on the lights that hugged the tree. 

 

“Well normally we just hand each other our gift, but since we decided to make it all secret, put the gifts on to the floor, open them, and then guess who it’s from… out of the three people there is to guess from.” Nicky found it weird that they were doing it with only four people.

 

Piper put everything on the floor, and handed them to the person it was for.   
  
Polly was the first to open hers. She had gotten the first two seasons of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. “Okay well I totally know who gave me this.” She looked over to Piper who had a small smile on her face. 

 

“I remember we use to watch it all the time.”

 

“Well thank you.” Polly pulled Piper in for a hug. 

 

“Well Piper, looks like its your turn.” Nicky said.

 

“Right.” She opened up her gift. “Holy crap it’s Jell-O. Wow.” There were about five box’s of Jell-O, most of them strawberry, but one lime.

 

“They didn’t have five strawberry ones for some fucking reason, so i grabbed a lime. I threw in a $10 iTunes gift card in there as well.” Nicky pointed to a card that had fallen on the floor.

 

“Well that didn’t take long to figure out.” Piper chuckled. 

 

“Shit, sorry.” Nick started to laugh. “I’m so not use to this.”

 

“Well looks like it’s my turn to open mine.” Nicky took her gift and opened it and revealed a dvd. “The Ring, nice one Vause.” She looked up and smiled at Alex. “What? She gets me a horror movie every year.” 

 

“It’s true. This turned out to be a pretty lame secret santa… Didn’t take anyone any real guessing.” Alex said as she took her present and started to open it. She knew it was from Polly, and she had no idea what it would be. 

 

“I hope you like it. I heard it was a really good book and you read a lot so…” 

 

“Yeah thanks. This guy is an amazing author, wow. Thank you.” Alex was sort of surprised at the gift. John Irving was one of the best authors she knew.

 

Alex took all the ripped up wrapping paper and threw in into the garbage. She then went over to the front door where everyone was getting ready to leave. She said goodbye to Nicky and Polly, and the two walked down the stairs and got into their cars. Polly waited for Piper to come down.

 

“Before you go, I got something for you.” Alex walked into her room, and came about shortly after. “I didn’t get a chance to wrap it, and it’s really not much. I just thought it would look good on you.”   
  
Piper took the bag, and opened it. She pulled out a black beanie. She smiled. “Thank you.” She put it on. 

 

“Well I was right, you do look good in it.” Alex said as she kissed Piper.

 

“Marry Chirstmas Alex.”

 

“Merry Christmas Pipes.” She watched Piper walk down the stairs, and then she closed the door. 

 

She sighed and made her way into her bedroom. She was never really a holiday person, they were nothing special for her. This year was made just a little more special by Piper. She was with both people she cared for a lot, she just always hated Christmas Eve because her mother would always have to work a night shift. She never understood why she couldn’t get out of work. 

 

* * *

 

Alex woke up around 12:00. She put her messy hair up, put her glasses on, and walked out into the living room. She smelt bacon cooking, and went into the kitchen. 

 

“Merry Christmas honey.” Diane turned around and gave Alex a hug. 

 

“Merry Christmas mom.”

 

The two of them normally made pancakes, bacon, and eggs for breakfast on christmas morning.  When Alex was younger she would always wake up early from excitement. She would help with making the food. The two of them would eat and then open presents. 

 

This year was the same thing, except as Alex got older, she stopped getting up early to help cook.

 

“So how was work?” Alex asked as she put a few pancakes on her plate. 

 

“Boring as hell. The store is only open for those idiots who forget to get a gift for someone, but that rarely happens. Next year I’m going to say no to those assholes.” 

 

“Why do you always work on Christmas Eve anyway?”

 

“I get payed more to do it, and we always seem to need it.” 

 

“Right.” 

 

The two of them ate their food in silence. 

 

After they were done they both cleaned up, and put the dishes away. They then went into the living room. Alex handed her mother a present that she had wrapped, although it wasn’t wrapped that well. 

 

“Holy shit Alex, this is amazing.” Her mother said as she unwrapped a huge box that held a very nice pan. “I’ve wanted one of these for years, how the hell did you get this? They’re really fucking expensive.” 

 

“I saved up from my job I had over the summer.” 

 

“Oh right, wow, you better work on film sets for the rest of your life.” 

 

“Trust me, they aren’t all that fun.” 

 

“Well still, thank you so much.” Diane gave her a big tight hug. When they pulled away, she reached over and gave Alex one of her presents. 

 

Alex opened it up and pulled out a nice new leather jacket. “Shit this is beautiful.” 

 

“Isn’t it? I saw it and i just knew it was meant for you. I know you are really attached to that old worn out one, but this is meant for you.” 

 

“Oh thank you so much. Wow.” 

 

“Okay now I know you love your converse, but I think you’ll like these as well.” Diane handed Alex the other present that was by their small tree. 

 

“I do love my converse.” She opened the box. “But okay now I like these.” She said as she saw her new pair of black leather Dr. Martens. “Thank you so much.” 

 

“You’re welcome, now come one. Let’s clean up this… small mess.” Diane stood up and grabbed a bit of the wrapping paper that was all over the floor. Alex followed her.

 

When Alex went back to read a book in the living room, she noticed one more present sitting under the tree. “Hey mom, what’s this by the tree?”

 

“Piper gave that to me to give to you.” She yelled from the kitchen. 

 

Alex went over and picked up it up. She then took it into her room to open it. There was a card attached to it, so she read that first. 

 

_Merry Christmas Al. I remembered that you liked this band a lot. Well, you never told me, I remembered from the first night I slept over. I was looking through the many CD’s in your room, and I noticed this band was everywhere.  
I stumbled across this and I thought of you, so I really do hope you like it. _

 

_\- xo Piper_

 

Alex smiled. Something made Piper think of Alex, and that alone was enough for her. She ripped the wrapping paper to discover a vinyl record for the band  _Death Maiden._  “Ohmygod.” She whispered. 

 

She had opened it to the back of the cover, and when she turned it around to the front she noticed something.   
  
It was signed by the drummer of the band. 

 

Alex’s eyes started to water a bit. She wasn’t sure exactly what she was feeling and towards who, but this meant a lot to her. This meant the world to her; and the fact that Piper had even remembered such a small thing from so long ago made her heart feel warm. 

 

 

“Thank you Piper.” She whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... next chapter is the start of their trip... So get excited for that!


	15. How bad can a trip to Canada be? Pt1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... It's time for their trip up to Canada. Exciting eh? But okay this is actually a fairly lengthy chapter and it's extremely important.  
> You'll see why this is important when you get to the end... so I hope you enjoy!

 

 “Hey so you think you’ll be able to make it?”

 

“I’m totally up for it. Larry on the other hand…”

 

“Oh please Pete, he has to come! Tell him I’m sorry about what happened at your party. That bitch was wasted.”

 

“Yeah yeah I’ll try. I really will.” 

 

* * *

 

Piper was getting ready to leave for their trip. Her father had gone over safety rules with her ever since she got the ‘ok’ to go.   
  
She was very excited about the trip, although she was somewhat worried about what a few days away in Canada with Sarah would be like. She still really liked her friend, but she was getting to be a bit much.

 

Alex was getting more and more nervous about the trip. It wasn’t because she was worried about leaving, in fact she had always wanted to travel, it was just the thought of what could happen. Alex was not sure how much fun going away with all of Pipers friends, with who she didn’t get along with any of them really. 

 

Nicky was wanting to get out of town. She hated how her parents always went out of town without her, although part of her knew why that was. They were going to different places to see different people. 

 

Sarah, Polly, and a few other people were going by plane on the 28th. Piper, Nicky, Alex, and Kathryn were going on the 27th. It was quite a long way to get to where they were going, but it wouldn’t take more then a day. 

 

* * *

 

It was about 11:30am when Nicky left her house. She had packed a bit bag mainly full of clothes, but also some other things she knew she would need for this. When she got to Alex’s house, she was there waiting outside. She wasn’t hard to miss, as she really stood out in the whiteness of the snow. 

 

She got into the passenger seat after putting her bag in the trunk. 

 

“We’re going to pick up Piper and then her friend Kathryn.” Nicky started to drive towards Pipers house.

 

“Wait, she’s coming with us?” 

 

“Uh yeah. Is she going to be someone I can look forward to meeting?”

 

“Well, she’s not as bad as Sarah, she pretty much just follows her around. But this’ll be an interesting 10 hours.”

 

“I’m sure. I assume I’ll have a lot of bonding time with this Kathryn.”

 

“And what does that mean?”

 

“It means your going to be all lovey-dovey with Piper.” 

 

Alex rolled her eyes. She so did not want to been seen as ‘lovey-dovey’ at all.  “Ha ha.” 

 

They arrived at Pipers house. Alex got out and went up to the door. She wished she was able to hold Piper in her arms and kiss her the second she saw her, but she couldn’t. Her parents didn’t know, and Piper did not want them to know. 

 

“Hello. It’s… Nice to see you again Alex.” Bill Chapman said as he eyed the tall girl. 

 

“Hi, uh it’s nice to see you too… Mr. Chapman.” 

 

“Alex, hey!” Piper appeared behind her father. “Sorry I just finished packing.” 

 

“Whoa how much do you need? We are only going away for a few days.”  


“I know, but you never know. We could get snowed in and need more clothes.” 

 

“Piper don’t be ridiculous.” Bill said. “Anyway, you guys have fun. And be safe.” He kissed Pipers head, and headed back into the house. 

 

“Let me help” Alex picked up Pipers very full and very heavy bag. “Shit whats in here, rocks?”

 

“Actually yeah.” 

 

“Right. Let’s just get into the car.” 

 

Piper closed the door behind her and followed Alex over to the car. The trunk was starting to get a bit full. They hoped that Kathryn didn’t pack to much. 

 

When they arrived at Kathryn’s house, she wasn’t over packed. Her bag fit perfectly in the little space that was left. 

 

The four of them were all in the car, and they were on their way to Canada.

 

“So Kathryn, why the hell do you have a place in Canada?” Nicky asked.

 

“Uhm, my father is from there and he never wanted to see it. It use to be used more then it is now.” 

 

“Right, well that’s pretty cool. Canada’s cool.”

 

“If by cool you mean cold then you are absolutely right.” Alex joked. 

 

“Oh man Vause your killing me here. I’m dying of laughter.” Nicky said sarcastically. 

 

“Please, I know you think i’m hilarious.” 

 

Six hours to the border seemed like a ridiculously long time, but it actually wasn’t that bad. Kathryn and Piper spoke to each other in the back. Sometimes Alex and Nicky would join, but for the most part they were having their own conversations. 

 

Other times they would all just be listening to music. Piper and Kathryn would listen to their iPods, while Alex and Nicky listened to the radio, or some cd’s. Thankfully they had a smilier taste in music. 

 

At times they got bored and things felt a little too cramped in the car. Piper or Kathryn would ask to get out to switch who was in the passenger seat, but Nicky always said they would have to wait until they got passed the border. 

Six hours of music listening, talking, complaining, and sleeping, they reached the border. 

 

It was fairly quick getting thought. There were some questions about 4 young girls driving into Canada, but thankfully they had Alex. She charmed the pants off the guy, and shortly after they were over the bridge and in Canada. 

 

“Can we please get out of this damn car!” Kathryn sighed as they drove through Niagara falls. 

 

“Yeah come on Nicky, pleaase.” Piper begged. 

 

The two of them started begging until Nicky gave in, and pulled in to a Tim Hortons. “Okay fine. I’m going to get a coffee. You guys figure it out.” 

 

Alex, Piper, and Kathryn all got out of the car as well. They needed to stretch their legs, and getting something to eat and drink seemed very appealing to them at the moment. 

 

They all walked into the building, and waited in line. Nicky ordered herself a coffee. Alex also just got a coffee. Piper and Kathryn got a box of Timbits to split. Kathryn got a coffee, while Piper got a tea. 

 

Piper did like coffee, but currently tea was her thing. 

 

The four of them sat down at a table, even though Nicky really wanted to start driving more. 

 

“Nicky what’s your problem? We have time…” Alex said getting Nicky to sit down. 

 

“Okay we have 15 minutes, 20 tops.” 

 

“We do have a while… about another 4 hours.” Kathryn added, not helping.

 

“Great. That’s fantastic.” Nicky replied. 

 

“Well I would like some time out of that car. It’s a relief to not be sitting in a car… but inside sitting in a chair…” Piper trailed off. 

 

Alex just laughed at her, and kissed her on the cheek. Piper’s cheeks turned a faint shade of pink. 

 

Kathryn hadn’t been much of a bother towards Alex. In fact she was actually being her normal self, not being bossed around by Sarah. 

 

“Okay this is killing me. Let’s go.” Nicky stood up and made her way to the car. “If you aren’t here in 5 minutes I’m leaving with out you.” 

 

Alex rolled her eyes and followed. 

 

When the three of them were at the car, they just stood there, not knowing what to do about seating. 

 

Piper really wanted to be in the passenger seat, but she didn’t know what would happen if she left Alex and Kathryn together for four hours. She sighed and said “Fine, Kathryn get in the front. Alex and I will be in the back.”

 

Kathryn jumped with joy and raced to the front. 

 

Alex sighed and got into the backseat, Piper following.

 

They were on the road again. It was quiet at first. Alex got out a book, the book that Polly had given her, and started reading while it was still light out. Piper listened to her music and looked out the window watching other cars, or looking at the surrounding area. 

 

Nicky and Kathryn spoke for a while. They actually spoke about biology. Kathryn was really good at it, and although Nicky was interested in it, she was really not good at anything revolving around science. Kathryn was helping Nicky without either of them really knowing it. 

 

Alex was really trying to concentrate on her book, but at some point Kathryn got so into the subject she was practically yelling. 

 

“Fuck it’s just science, you don’t need to yell about it.” Alex interrupted. 

 

“Sorry. I’ll be quieter.” 

 

“Thank you.” Alex started to read again, but still slightly annoyed at hearing about anything to do with science. She looked over to Piper who was laughing at the whole thing. 

 

“I’m sorry, it’s just… It’s funny.”  


“Uh huh. Hilarious.” Alex shook her head. 

 

For another few hours they all just sat and did there thing. Occasionally Piper would throw pieces of cardboard at Alex from the Timbits container. Alex would either throw it back, or laugh sarcastically. 

 

They drove through Toronto. Piper really would have liked to wander around the city, but Nicky was determined on getting there. It was bout 8pm and they were all getting hungry, but all Nicky was prepared to do was go to a drive through somewhere. 

 

Earlier one of them had mentioned something about pizza, making them all crave pizza. Even Nicky, but she still didn’t want to stop. Not yet anyway. 

 

When they drove out of the city and away from where all the food was, Alex kicked the drivers seat.

 

“There’s a town mot far from the cottage. We could stop there and get pizza?” Kathryn suggested, looking at Nicky. 

 

She nodded her head. “Okay fine, fine. We have like, what, and hour and a half until we get there?”

 

“About, yeah.”

 

“Okay.” 

 

Alex sighed. She looked over to Piper who was leaning against the window. Piper turned and looked over to her, and smiled.   


“Tired?” Alex asked. 

 

Piper nodded.

 

“Well we’ll be there soon, so hang in there, kid.” 

 

An hour and a half passed. It was quiet. Alex was listening to the music that was playing. Piper was really falling asleep, but kept insisting she was fully awake. Kathryn and Nicky spoke a lot, annoying Alex because it interfered with the music. 

 

“Oh pull in there!” Kathryn yelled, pointing to a small place that said “old fashioned pizzeria.” 

 

Nicky pulled in to the small parking lot that only four cars could fit in. Nicky and Kathryn got out of the car. Alex was about to get out she she noticed Piper was asleep. 

 

"Shit." Alex undid her seat belt and moved beside her, and shook her gently. "Hey Pipes?"

 

She shifted and opened her eyes slowly. A smile fell on her face when she saw Alex in front of her. 

 

"Do you want us to get you a slice?"

 

Piper stomach grumbled, and she nodded. "I can get up though" she sat up and rubbed her eyes. 

 

"Okay." Alex slid over and opened the door, and stepped out. The stretched her arms, and then walked into the small place. Piper followed shortly after. 

 

"You tired Chapman?" Nicky asked. Ever since she had learned Pipers last name she had been calling her by it. She preferred to refer to people by their last names rather then their first. She didn't really know why though. 

 

"Nope not at all." Piper replied. 

 

Alex and Piper walked up to order a Pizza they would split. They both just wanted a cheese pizza. 

 

Nicky and Kathryn had decided to split a Hawaiian pizza. 

 

"Do you refer to everyone by their last name?" Kathryn asked. 

 

"Yeah... Mostly. It helps if I know your last name though." 

 

“Right… Well good thing you don’t know mine.” Kathryn walked up to the worker and ordered. 

 

The three of them waited whole Kathryn oredered. Alex spoke to Nicky about how much she was dreading Sarah coming up. Nicky was still curious to meet her, but the more she heard the more she thought the next few days would suck. Piper was listening, but didn’t comment. 

 

Kathryn walked over. "Please tell me you aren't planning on ditching me."

 

"Nope, not yet." Alex said. Piper the hit her on the arm, making Alex say, "sorry."

 

About fifteen minutes of awkward conversation between the four of them, their pizzas were ready. Instead of trying to argue with Nicky this time, they all just got in the car and ate their pizzas. 

 

Nicky and Kathryn were having a hard time figuring out where to put the box, and it ended with it in Kathryn's lap, with Nicky reaching over every now and then for a slice. 

 

Alex found it amusing but Piper was still very confused. 

 

"Okay turn up here." Kathryn said. "Okay awesome turn into the driveway. We're here!"

 

"Shit finally." Alex said. 

 

Kathryn got out of the car first. She went and opened up the place, and turned on some lights. 

 

The cottage wasn't on a lake. It use to be an old farm house. There was the main house, and there was also another place just across the field where people could also stay. There were woods surrounding the big field. 

 

They four of them unloaded their stuff and went inside. There was a kitchen and eating area when they first got in. There was stairs in the next room leading upstairs. To the left of the stairs there was a small tv room. To the right was  a big living room. Upstairs there were four bedrooms, and a bathroom. 

 

When they got inside it was still sort of cold. Right away Kathryn walked over to the small firer place in the corner of the room and started a fire. They all took off their boots and coats. Piper had been wearing the black beanie Alex had given her, and she planned to wear it for the rest of the night. It was too cold for her to take it off. 

 

Nicky, Piper, and Alex had not anticipated how much snow there was going to be. Alex only brought her leather jacket; her old one thankfully. 

 

"So where's everyone sleeping. I noticed there was another house or whatever, just across the field." Alex asked as she walked closer to the fire. 

 

"Well, I think we can all be in here. Whoever else who needs to stay over can probably be over there. I'll try to keep everything over here, as tracking through the snow would be a nightmare. But there's a pool table and shit over there so..." Kathryn trailed off. 

 

"Cool." Was Alex's only response. 

 

"Yeah. I'm going to take my regular room. Nicky take whatever room you want and uh, I want to assume you two will. Be sharing a room?" Kathryn said hesitantly. She seemed more okay with the thought of Alex and Piper. She still didn't know why it bugged her in the first place. 

 

Piper and Alex looked to each other. They hesitated for a minute, and then both nodded their heads and said "yes." 

 

"Cool. So anyway yeah, this is my cottage." 

 

"All the way in fucking Canada. I mean, nothing against Canada, but still."

 

"Uhm, I'm going to bring my stuff upstairs, and then I'm probably going to watch tv or something. Polly and Sarah's flight arrives at four tomorrow, so I need to leave about two hours before. Apparently they are bringing two other  people"

 

"Alright. Well let's start by choosing our rooms." Nicky grabbed her bag and headed up the stairs following Kathryn. 

 

Nicky chose the second biggest bedroom to sleep in, the first one after you get up the stairs. Kathryn's room was right beside that one. There were tow bedrooms left; the master bedroom, and a smaller bedroom that had three beds in it. 

 

Alex and Piper decided to sleep in the master bedroom. 

 

Nicky and Kathryn had gone back downstairs and turned on the tv.

 

"Look what we have, all to ourselves." Alex kissed Piper, pushing her back onto the bed. 

 

Alex kissed Pipers neck down to her chest. She put her hands under Pipers shirt. Piper loved the feelings of Alex's lips on her skin. The feeling of the skin to skin contact. Alex then kissed Pipers lips again, her tongue burnishing against the blondes lower lip. She allowed entrance, and their tongues met. 

 

Piper then pulled away and sat up. What she was about to say had never occurred to her until this moment, but now it wouldn't leave her mind. "Al, wait."

 

"Uh huh?" Alex plated another kiss on her lips and smiled. 

 

"I can't."

 

"You can't what?"

 

"I'm not ready to... Have sex..."

 

Alex then stood up, thinking for a moment, and then sat down on the edge of the bed beside Piper. "Okay."

 

"Okay?"

 

"I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to do. If you aren't ready, then that's okay. Whenever you're ready, I'm ready." 

 

"God you sound like such a cliche. I sound like a fucking cliche." Piper chuckled. 

 

"Damn, that's really disappointing to here." Alex laughed, and out her arm around Piper. 

 

"So, you aren't bothered or anything? You will really wait?"

 

"Of course I will. I-" Alex stopped herself from saying what she was going to say. She couldn't say it. She wouldn't say it, so she didn't. 

 

Alex then crawled onto the bed and patted the spot beside her. "Come be my little spoon. "

 

Piper rolled her eyes, and then crawled beside her, and lay on her side. Alex wrapped her arms around her. She pulled her in closer. Piper smelled like vanilla. She smelled sweet. 

 

“So, are we like… officially dating? Like, girlfriends?” Piper rolled over to face Alex.

 

Alex lifted up her glasses off of her face “If that’s what you want, then yeah.” She smiled. 

 

Piper didn’t have to say anything else. All she did was softly kiss Alex.

 

It was late, and the two were both exhausted. The two were holding each other is their arms, both feeling extremely safe and comfortable. Piper was the first to fall alseep, but Alex lay there thinking, and at some point, she fell asleep too. 

 

* * *

 

It was about 12:30pm when Alex woke up. Piper was no longer there, and her glasses were on the bedside table. There was a blanket on top of her, but she was on top of the covers of the bed. 

 

She sat up, rubbered her eyes, and looked around. It was quite bright out, and she swore she could smell bacon being cooked. Before going downstairs she changed out of her old cloths and into new ones. She forgot that she had never changed into pyjamas. 

 

Alex got her glasses and put them on the bridge of her nose. She then walked down the hall, and then down the stairs. 

 

“Good-morning!” Piper smiled. 

 

“Morning.” Alex replied, still quite tired. 

 

“You are just in time for breakfast- or brunch, whatever you want to call it.” Piper said. 

 

“Awesome.” Alex walked over and got a glass of water, and then sat down beside Piper at the table. “Where’d all of this come from?” She asked. 

 

“Oh Nicky and I went into town.” Kathryn said as she walked over and put a big plate of bacon on the table. 

 

Nicky then walked over and put a plate of pancakes down. 

 

“There is a lot of food here, and I just woke up. I’m not sure i’m ready for all of this.” Alex said looking at all of the food.

 

Kathryn then walked over with some bagels, and sat down. Nicky came over with a carton of orange juice.

 

“I’ve made a pot of coffee if you want to help yourself.” Kathryn offered to Alex. 

 

She got up and poured herself a big mug. Everyone then started eating. 

 

* * *

 

Kathryn had left to go pick up Polly and Sarah and the other two mysterious people hours ago. 

 

Piper, Alex, and Nicky spent their time blasting music and playing games. They started out simple by playing connect four. After about 40 minutes of it, Alex and Nicky just started throwing the pieces at each other. They then switched to the game Othello. They each took turns, winner staying, while the other two switched. Alex was really great at the game.   


They heard a car pull up. There were voices that got closer, and they could hear the crunching of the snow as they walked up. 

 

Piper got up to greet everyone who was there. Nicky was quite keen on meeting Sarah whom she had heard all about. Alex reluctantly followed. 

 

“Sarah, hey!” Piper said as she hugged her. 

 

Polly appeared and gave Piper a huge hug. 

 

“Oh Sarah this is my friend Nicky, Nicky Sarah.” Piper introduced the two. 

 

“It’s nice to finally meet you.” Nicky said. 

 

“Yeah, nice to meet you.” Sarah replied. She sounded extremely bored and disinterested, but she was already a lot nicer then she was when she first met Alex. 

 

Alex and Sarah made eye contact, and then acted as if they had never seen each other. Piper sighed as noticed their little interaction, but before she could say anything two more people walked through they door. 

 

“Hello.” A guy said with a fairly strong Australian accent. Pete walked through the door carrying a big bag that made a clunking noise when he put it down.

 

_Oh no._ Piper thought when she realized who the second person was. 

 

“Hey.” Larry said as he walked through the door. 

 

Piper looked over to Sarah who had a looked proud of herself for what she had thought of doing. She then looked over to Alex who look extremely unhappy at the sight of the guy. 

 

* * *

 

After everyone was settled in their rooms, or on the couch, they all sat in the living room talking. 

 

Polly and Pete seemed to have become more of an item during their time together. The two of them shared the big cushioned chair that was across from the couch. Polly’s legs stretched across Pete’s lap. 

 

Kathryn and Sarah sat on the floor leaning against the cabinet where all the games were stored. 

 

Piper was sitting on Alex’s lap, arm around the raven haired girl, hoping it was clear enough to Larry that they were together. Nicky was beside the two enjoying the awkward tension she was literally in between. And then Larry was sitting on the other end of the couch. He was focused on the conversation, but every now and then he would look over at Piper and wish he was Alex. He would then direct his attention to her, and get a little angry, but not enough that it showed. 

 

“Okay I totally didn’t plan much for dinner tonight, but uh, there’s some pasta and shit that we can make or something.” Kathryn said. 

 

Everyone nodded their head okay.

 

“Oh and one more thing, my cousin is apparently coming to this thing, and she’s coming tonight so… yeah. Sleeping wise things may need to change.” She added. 

 

“Oh my god is she really? Yess, this is awesome.” Sarah was practically bursting with joy. 

 

“What’s so big about that?” Pete asked. 

 

“Other then the fact that she’s super awesome, she is also able to get alcohol. She has a fake!” 

 

Nicky rolled her eyes at the comment.

 

“Right, well I brought some alcohol, but I assume we will be needing more for New Years.” Pete said. “I also brought some killer pot, so…” 

 

“Seriously?” Polly questioned. 

 

“Yeah seriously.” 

 

“Is that why we needed to stop on the way here… was to get you your weed?” Polly sat up. 

 

“Basically yeah.” He replied. 

 

Polly then planted a big kiss on his cheek. “You are the best.” 

 

Piper looked over to her and eyed her weirdly. It was unlike Polly to ever want to do something like that; then again, she hadn’t seen her in years. People change. 

 

“Alright now we’re talking.” Nicky perked up. 

 

Kathryn looked over to Nicky, and smiled at her. She was never into the whole weed-smoking-thing, but she thought that maybe this weekend would be different. She wanted to impress Nicky, or so she wanted to make it look like it. 

 

“Hey Kat, can I talk to you for a second?” Piper stood up off Alex. She motioned for her to stand up, and she did. 

 

“What?” Kathryn asked.   


Piper looked over to everyone else, and then pulled her into the kitchen. Before she said what she really wanted to she realized that everyone was going to be trying to listen to their conversation. “Okay we’re going outside.” 

 

“Fine.” Kathryn rolled her eyes. 

 

The two of them stepped outside. 

 

“Okay what is up with you? You have been all over Nicky and you’ve known her for what, 24 hours?”

 

“Am I not allowed to talk to anyone?”

 

“You are, but really. What’s with all the flirty looks and everything towards Nicky?”  


“I… Look, i’ve been so use to being bitched around by Sarah that i’ve not had any time to figure out who I am… I figured maybe this weekend I could-“

 

Piper cut her off. “I’m happy that you are stepping out of under a shadow, and figuring this all out, but maybe you don’t ‘experiment’ with my girlfriends best friend.” 

 

Just then a car pulled up shining a bright light on the two. They both put a hand up to block the light, and turned around. 

 

“I know I don’t do a lot with my life. I spend most of my time studying and working on getting good grades. Sarah makes my life out to be some epic party, but you know that’s not true. I’ve never been drunk, i’ve never smoked a cigarette or pot. Fuck I haven’t even had my first kiss! But just because I think I could try something with someone doesn’t mean I’m experimenting.” 

 

Piper was silent for a second. They heard the car door slam shut, but chose to ignore it. 

 

“I’m sorry. I just… Didn’t realize how much I didn’t know about you, or Sarah. But please, just don’t go after Nicky.”

 

Kathryn’s plan was going the way she wanted it to. Sarah and her had had this plan to screw up their relationship ever since they found out that Alex was coming.

 

The door opened and someone walked out, but Piper didn’t notice. Kathryn smirked. “Fuck, I can do what I want. And you’re one to talk about experimenting. Isn’t that what your guys’ relationship based off of? An experiment to see if you’re gay or not?”

 

Piper was silent for a second. She knew a tiny part of that was right, but she also really did like Alex.  _Did I only like her in the first place to see if I could?_

 

“Is that true?” Alex asked.

 

Kathryn and Piper turned around. Alex was standing in the doorway leading inside, with a pissed off look on her face. Kathryn had a smug look on her face. She didn’t have much experience with much, but she did know how to be a bitch. 

 

“Heey!” A voice said as they walked up to the three of them. It was Kathryns cousin. Piper had only met her a few times very briefly.

 

“Hey!” Kathryn gave her a big hug. “Guys this is my cousin. Piper you’ve met her a few times, Alex this is-“

 

“Look it’s nice to meet you but Piper and I need to talk.” Alex barely even looked away from Piper, who had a look of guilt and anger on her face. 

 

“Let’s leave them alone.” Kathryn motioned to go inside, and they did.

 

The two of them walked inside, and took off their boots and coats. Kathryn’s cousin was small. Her hair was brown and fell just above her shoulders. She was wearing vibrant red lipstick, and a little eyeshadow and eyeliner. She had a big grey sweater on, and skinny blue jeans. 

 

“Okay, so that’s Larry, and then Nicky, Sarah you know, Polly, and uh… Pete.” Kathryn pointed to each one as she said their names, hesitating when she got to Pete. 

 

Before Kathryn could continue Piper and Alex stormed in. Piper raced up the stairs, and Alex followed, but she heard the door slam as she reached the top. 

 

“Shit.” Larry said, a small smile crossing his face. 

 

“Wait before you go on, Sarah here just told me your last name.!” Nicky said excitedly. “So get excited, Morello.” 

 

“Ha ha.” Kathryn laughed sarcastically. “Thanks Sarah… Anyway guys, this is my cousin, Lorna.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHAAATTT.  
> Ok I have been waiting and waiting to reveal this. I've been planning this for age's and i'm so happy to add Lorna into the story! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter!


	16. How bad can a trip to Canada be? Pt2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so is anyone else really pissed about The Emmys? Man OITNB totally should have won.  
> Anyway, I hope this takes your mind off of that.   
> Enjoy!

Nicky had noticed Piper and Alex run in, but she knew by the way Alex was holding herself that they had had a fight. She was going to follow her and make sure she was okay, but Kathryn and Lorna had come in.   
  
The second she laid eyes on her she was taken. Her accent that sounded like it was a mix between a New York and Boston accent. It was not something you would hear every day, but Nicky found it amusing. It added more character to the girl. 

 

“Hey.” Nicky said. “Come sit.” She motioned to the empty seat beside her on the couch.   
  
Kathryn went back to sit beside Sarah, while Lorna sat beside Nicky. But before Nicky could even talk to her, Alex walked down the stairs, into the kitchen, and then outside.

 

“Shit.” Nicky got up off the couch. 

 

She followed Alex outside, putting on her coat and boots first. When she got outside she couldn’t see her. “Alex?” She called out. 

 

No answer. 

 

“Fuck.” Nicky followed the footprints in the snow. It got a little hard because she couldn’t see after a while. Alex’s strides were also so big that Nicky was having a hard time stepping in the print to avoid getting to much snow on herself. 

 

She mad her way over the what Kathryn called ‘the other house.’  Nicky made her way up the stairs where she knew Alex would have gone. She always went up the highest place possible. 

 

“Alex?” Nicky called out as she was halfway up the stairs. When she got up the stairs she saw Alex leaning against the railing, looking out into the woods. “Hey, are you okay?”

 

“What? oh… hey.” Alex turned around. 

 

“Are you?”

 

“uhm… Yeah. Things just got really fucking complicated.”

 

“How so?” Nicky tried to open the door that lead inside. It opened. “Let’s get inside, it’s freezing out here.” 

 

The two stepped inside, found the light switch. Took off their coats and then walked up the set of stairs that lead to a place that had a total of four beds in it. One in the far right corner, the other three in the left corner. Two couches in the small hall. 

 

“Shit this place is nice.” Nicky said looking over the railing,

 

“Uh huh.” Alex walked over to the left corner and sat on one of the three beds. 

 

Nicky followed and sat on the bed across from her. “What happened between you two?”

 

“Kathryn happened.” 

 

“Shit, what’d she do?”  


“She just fucked everything up- no. She started it, and then I fucked everything up.”

 

Alex’s phone buzzed. Her heart skipped when she thought it could be Piper, but it wasn’t.

 

_Polly- Hey. since you and Nicky are already over there, would you want to sleep over there with Lorna? Kathryn want’s to know. Larry and Pete are willing to bring over your bags._

 

Alex rolled her eyes and threw her phone over to Nicky to read.

 

“Shit. If you are being asked to sleep here then either Sarah and Kathryn are getting their way or…” She paused. 

 

“Or Piper is.” Alex continued what she knew Nicky was going to say. 

 

Nicky then started typing something. When she threw the phone back Alex read what she wrote. 

 

_Alex- Yeah sure, that’d be great._

 

“Really?”

 

“What.”

 

“I thought you were into Kathryn…”

 

“Her? No, she’s pretty but not my type. She’s a bit too much of a… of a bitch.” 

 

“But her cousin is different?”

 

“She is, yeah. Anyway what did you two fight about?”

 

* * *

 

**“Is that true?” Alex asked.**

 

**Kathryn and her cousin walked into the house, leaving the two of them outside alone.**

 

**“No that isn’t true- i mean, maybe a part of me thought so when i first started thinking about us but-“**

 

**“So it is true.” Alex rolled her eyes and looked away.**

 

**“But that doesn’t mean my feelings for you are any less true.”**

 

**“Yeah but it means you only ever thought of me as a fucking experiment!”**

 

**“That’s bullshit. You know that’s not true.”**

 

**“Right, is that why Larry’s here? So you could experiment with him too?” Alex’s tone was getting more sarcastic, and more angry.**

 

**“That’s not fair Alex. You know I didn’t invite him.”**

 

**“Whatever, this is stupid. This was a bad idea.”**

 

**Piper wasn’t sure what she was talking about. “We were a bad idea?”**

 

**“No coming was a bad idea, but maybe we were a bad idea too.”**

 

**“You don’t mean that.”**

 

**“Well maybe I do, because at least I fucking know what I want.” Alex hated saying that. There was some truth in it, but not in the way her tone made it sound. Alex was scared because she knew what she wanted. She was falling for this girl, and falling hard. She hated all this drama that came with it, and hearing that she was just something for Piper to experiment with hurt, even if that wasn’t really true.**

 

**“Fuck you.” Piper said as she walked past Alex inside.**

 

**Alex followed her and grabbed her arm to stop her for a second. Piper turned around and looked right into Alex’s eyes and said “If you don’t think we should be together, then maybe we shouldn’t be.” She pulled away and went inside as fast as she could.**

 

* * *

 

When Alex was finished telling her what had happened, Nicky was just sitting on the bed across from her staring at her, mouth agape.

 

Nicky was about to say something when the door opened and Lorna, Pete, and Larry all walked in. 

 

“hello there.” Pete said as he dropped Alex’s and Nickys bags in-between the two beds. 

 

“Wasn’t Larry supposed to help?” Nicky asked. 

 

“He’s carrying Lorna’s bag. Originally he was going to carry Alex’s but that didn’t work out so well…” 

 

“What?” Alex yelled. 

 

“Yeah, he was going to throw it in the snow.” Pete said laughing. 

 

Larry and Lorna walked up the stairs, and to where everyone else was. Larry glared at Alex and then sat on the third bed where Pete was sitting. Lorna went and sat down beside Nicky. 

 

Alex shot Nicky a look and smirked. It was like Nicky knew exactly what she was thinking, because she took one of the two pillows that were on the bed and threw it at her. 

 

“Did we interrupt something?” Pete asked grinning. 

 

“Actually yeah.” Alex replied. 

 

“What were you two talking about?” Lorna looked over to Alex, who still looked fairly upset. “Was it about that blonde girl?”

 

“Damn you’re like a detective or something.” Nicky said.

 

“Well what happened between you two?” 

 

Alex did not want to talk about this with anyone. She barley even wanted to talk about it with Nicky. 

 

“Did you two have a fight or something?” Larry asked, hoping that he was right. 

 

Alex rolled her eyes and didn’t answer. 

 

“I’m going to take that as a yes…” Larry said as he looked down at his fidgeting hands. “I think Sarah and Kathryn want to see me so… I’ll be over there.” He got up off the bed and practically ran back to the main house. 

 

“Fuck.” Alex sat up. “I need to go.” 

 

“Wait no you don’t. So you two had a fight, it’s not like she’s going to jump the next person who show’s any kind of sympathy towards her.” Nicky said trying to get her to stay. 

 

“Yeah but… What if she does. I mean, fuck are we even still together?”

  
“Look, you were a fucking idiot, but she likes  _you_ you dumb-ass.” She threw the second pillow at Alex. 

 

“Fine.” Alex sighed. 

 

“So Lorna, you seeing anyone? Care to shed some light on this one.” Nicky asked.

 

“I am yes. His name is Christopher.”

 

“Right…” Nicky looked discouraged there. “So do you live in Canada or?”

 

“No, I live in New York.”

 

“Shit seriously?” Nicky sat up. 

 

“Where do you go to school?” Pete asked. 

 

“Some all girl school. It’s nice but Christopher is never allowed to come visit me.” 

 

Alex nodded as she tried not to laugh. Nicky was falling for a taken straight girl, something that almost never happened before. 

 

“It’s getting pretty late, I think i’m going to get changed and go to bed.” Alex sat up and looked through her bag, and then went to change downstairs. 

 

The other three of them got ready too. 

 

Pete and Nicky then went outside and lit up a joint. Nicky then came back in while Pete walked back to the main house. 

 

Alex was laying down in bed while Lorna was on her phone. Nicky came up, looking for some conversation to happen. Not much did between the three of them, but her and Lorna spoke for hours. Alex managed to get herself to fall asleep.

 

It was hard too because she kept thinking about all the stupid things she said to Piper. She kept thinking that fucking Larry was over there probably talking to her and comforting her. It was hard to get her mind off of everything.  _Nicky was right, I really am a dumb-ass._  

 

* * *

 

Piper was in her room, door shut. She was sitting on the bed, knees up to her chest and tears falling down her face. She knew that everything was just one big overreaction by both of them, but it still hurt. She had hated Alex in that very moment, but now it was more like she was just angry at everyone, but especially at Alex. Piper wouldn’t say she really hated her anymore, but maybe she did. 

 

She had no idea how long she was up there alone crying, but suddenly there was a knock on the door. 

 

“Go away.” Piper shouted, hoping that her voice didn’t crack. 

 

The door opened anyway. 

 

“It’s uh, just me.” Larry said as he closed the door behind him. He was holding a bottle of limoncello.  

 

Piper looked at what he was holding. She had no clue as to what limoncello even was, but she chose to ignore that and focus on the fact that Larry was there. “What do you want?”

 

“I just wanted to see if you were okay… and maybe help cheer you up.” He held up the bottle, as if that was going to make everyone happy. 

 

“I appreciate that, but I sort of want to be alone right now.” Piper’s eyes were red and puffy. It didn’t take a genius to know that she had been crying. 

 

Larry put the bottle on the bed side table and sat on the bed beside Piper, putting his arm around her. 

 

“If you think you are going to get anywhere with me tonight, then you should probably just leave now.” 

 

“Okay…” It was silent for a second. “But, do you want to talk about it?”

 

“Not really.” 

 

“Sure. Well here, take a sip of this.” He picked up the bottle and handed it to her. 

 

She took it without really thinking about it, and took a small sip. “Shit this is good.” She then took a bigger sip. 

 

“Right? It’s fucking fantastic.” Larry took the bottle from her and took a big sip himself. “Just be careful with how much you drink. It’s strong.” 

 

“I don’t fucking care right now.” Piper said taking the bottle again. She really didn’t care at the moment. She was tired of crying. Tired of feeling angry. She was tired of feeling. Her mind jumped to two things.  _Let’s just get drunk_ and  _Fuck you Alex._

 

The two of them spent about an hour just talking and laughing. They were both really drunk and laughing at every little thing. 

 

“You punched my fucking girlfriend!” 

 

“She fucking… Punched me first.” 

 

The two were both so drunk it was a miracle they could understand each other. 

 

It was silent for a while. Both of them looking into each others eyes intensely. Larry leaned in to kiss her. Their lips were practically touching when Piper pulled away. 

 

“I can’t…”

 

“What?” Larry was confused. “We’re you not… I thought…”

 

“You’re a nice guy… Larry. I can’t do that to…” Piper stopped talking for a moment. She had realized why she was this drunk. Why she was with that jerk Larry right now. Piper was hurt by Alex, and the fact that she still couldn’t bare to hurt her made Piper angrier. 

 

Suddenly Piper grabbed Larry’s face and pulled him in, kissing him. It was like this was the one thing Larry had been waiting for for ages. He was so aggressive. His hands rushing through her hair as if this was the last thing he would do. But that was it. There was no passion, not spark. Nothing. 

 

“No.” Piper pushed Larry away. “I’m not… Not hurting Alex.” She stood up and slowly made her way to the door, opening it so Larry could get out. 

 

He stood up slowly, and walked over to her. He was going to say something, but he chose not to and walked out. Piper closed the door and made her way to the bed, and fell onto it far first. 

 

“Fuck.” She yelled to herself.

 

* * *

 

It was 4:10am when Alex sat up startled. She was hot and sweaty, and felt disoriented. Waking up in a pitch black area was worse not fun. 

 

She looked around. A little light from the moon barley came in through the window. 

 

Alex fell back onto the bed. “Fuck.” She whispered to herself. This was the first nightmare she had had in years. 

 

* * *

 

“I seriously need my coffee.” Alex mumbled as the three of them trekked through the snow to get to the main house.

 

“Looks like you do. Geez, you look like crap.” Nicky replied. 

 

“Yeah and you’re hair looks fantastic.” Alex shot back, smiling at her friend. 

 

“Did you sleep well?” Lorna asked the two.

 

“I slept amazingly. No city noise, no light. It was great.” Nicky replied. “How about you Vause?”

 

“Uh… yeah. Sure.” Alex didn’t want to bring up the fact that she woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t get herself to get back to sleep. It was about 11am when they decided to walk over. Nicky woke up around 10, leaving Alex awake and alone for 6 hours. 

 

They entered the house to see everyone in the kitchen. Everyone but Piper and Larry. The first thing Alex did was look around for her, and was disappointed when she wasn’t there. She was angry at the fact that Larry wasn’t either. 

 

After they got out of their coats and boots they made got out bowls and poured themselves some cereal. It took Alex a minute to see as her glasses got extremely foggy. She hated winter for this reason. 

 

Alex raced for the coffee and poured herself a giant glass. She put tons of sugar in it. She then walked into the living room where Pete, Polly, and Nicky were. She say on the couch beside Nicky. 

 

“I see you looking at her.” Alex whispered. 

 

“Shut up.” Nicky looked over to her friend who looked exhausted. “You okay?”

 

Alex looked up to make sure Polly or Peter were paying attention. They weren’t. “You remember when I use to have nightmares like, all the time?”

 

“Uh huh.” 

 

“Well I had one again last night…”

 

“Shit, really? Is that why you’re so tried?”

 

“Yeah… It’s not a big deal, it just managed to scare the shit out of me for a while.” 

 

“Wait- Is this because of Piper?”

 

“What?” Alex laughed. “Why the hell would it have anything to do with her?”

 

“It sort of makes sense… I mean, last time you kept having them it was because you felt like your mother was going to never come back from her night shift at work. You thought you were going to lose someone you love. And I think you’re afraid that you will lose Piper… Specifically to that douche Larry.” 

 

Alex rolled her eyes to make it seem like that didn’t make sense, when really, that made perfect sense. “Right, but that’s saying i’m in love with Piper. ” 

 

“Well, aren’t you?”

 

Just then Larry walked down the stairs. He looked like shit. Nicky and Alex watched him walk into the kitchen and get some water. 

 

“Damn I didn’t think he would actually do it.” Pete said as Piper appeared on the stairs. 

 

“Wait what do you-“ Alex then looked over to the stairs and saw Piper. She so obviously had a hangover, but the fact that her and Larry had one, and came down within minutes of each other, made Alex feel sick. 

 

She rolled her eyes as Piper made her way down the stairs. When she got to the bottom she turned and looked at Alex as if she was going to say something. Before she could though, Alex got up, put on her coat, and walked outside. 

 

Nicky appeared behind her, standing in the door way. "Nothing happened between them Alex."

 

"How would you know?" Alex face facing away, back turned to the girl. 

 

"Look, I know Piper fairly well. And I know that she wouldn't do something like that. Was she probably pissed? Yeah, but that doesn't mean she will go to Larry."

 

Alex turned around and faced her. "Can I borrow you're phone?"

 

"Last time I checked you had a phone."

 

"I do, but i need to make a long distance call..."

 

"You think I'll let you charge a shit ton of money onto my phone bill for my parents to pay? Because you are absolutely right." She handed Alex her phone. 

 

"Thanks." Alex started to make her way towards the other house. 

 

When she got inside she went and sat down on the bed she slept in. She entered a number in the phone, and pressed call. 

 

The phone rang for a while. Alex was about to hang up when someone answered. 

 

"Hello?"

 

"Hey mom, it's Alex."

 

"Oh hey babe. Everything okay?"

 

"Uh yeah."

 

There was a silence between the two of them. 

 

"I think I really screwed things up between Piper and I..."

 

"What happened?"

 

"I got pissed at her for something that really wasn't her fault, and I yelled at her and told her that maybe dating was a bad idea." 

 

"Jesus Alex."

 

"Thanks for the support mom."

 

"What? I think it's safe to say that you really screwed up, but i don't think that's what's bothering you."

 

"But-"

 

"What else happened?" Diane said as if she knew Alex was going to say 'but that's it.'

 

"She got drunk last night after our fight.... And I think she slept with someone."

 

"You think? Al honey, that's just stupid. If you don't know then find out. Don't worry about something that you don't know for certain. For all you know the two could have gotten drunk and passed out before they made it to the bed."

 

"That's really so much help." Alex said sarcastically. 

 

"All I'm trying to say that you better find out before you go and bite her fucking head off, which I know you will do."

 

It was true. Before Alex left to make this call she was seriously thinking about confronting Piper then and there. "Okay... That was helpful..."

 

"Good."

 

More silence. 

 

"Look you caught me in between shifts and gotta leave soon."

 

"Okay."

 

"You good?"

 

"I am, yeah. Thank you."

 

"No problem hun."

 

"It's good to hear your voice." Alex said as she really started to feel homesick. 

 

"It's good to hear your voice too. Call me later, love ya."

 

"Love you too mom." She hung up the phone. 

 

Alex fell back, head on the pillow, looking up at the ceiling. 

 

She didn't realize she had closed her eyes and fallen asleep until she was woken up by Love a Song blasting through the speakers in the place. 

 

She shot up startled by the noise. "What the fuck?"  There were a few voices that she could hear talking, but mostly she heard Kathryn and Sarah singing along loudly and obnoxiously. 

 

"Fuck." Alex hated this song, and the two of them singing along made it ten times worse. 

 

She stood up off the bed and waked to the hall, and looked over the railing. Pete, Sarah, Kathryn, Nicky, and Lorna were all singing and dancing to the music. 

 

They were all visibly drunk except for Lorna who seemed more sober. 

 

"Man Nicky must be wasted to be listening to this crap." Alex mumbled to herself. She wondered down the stairs, wondering what time it was. 

 

"Shit Alex is awake!" Nicky yelled as she walked over  to her tall friend, swinging an arm around her. "It's about fucking time!" 

 

Alex looked outside. It was pitch black out, and she was still extremely tired. If the music hadn't been blasting she probably would have slept until the next day. 

 

The song ended, and Alex was relieved, until the next song came on. Teenage Dream by Katey Perry. 

 

Everyone except for Nicky and Alex started singing and jumping along. Alex was happy that Nicky at least didn't join in, that is, until Lorna came and dragged her over to where everyone else was. 

 

"You've got to be fucking kidding." Alex rolled her eyes and walked of ver to the door where her coat and things were. She then walked outside over to the main house.  

 

She grabbed an orange that was in a bowl along with a few apples and bananas. She didn't know where Piper, Polly, or Larry were. She just hopped that Larry was off somewhere by himself. 

 

The time was 11:27pm. 

 

Alex walked into the small tv room where Piper was sitting, a movie paused on the screen. 

 

"Oh sorry-" Alex turned to walk out. 

 

"Wait." Piper stopped her. "It just started... You could watch it with us." A small smile appeared on the blondes face. 

 

Alex smiled as well, until she remembered Piper had said  _us._ "Wait, us?"

 

Just then Larry walked in. "Uh..."

 

"Right." She then walked out of the room. 

 

"Al wait." Piper ran out making sure she didn't leave. "Please, come watch. Polly's going to watch with us too."

 

"Damn, I would have enjoyed it more if it were just Larry." 

 

Piper didn't say anything and turned around to go back into the room. 

 

"Wait no. That was uncalled for... "

 

"You think?" She turned around. 

 

Silence. 

 

"Look, if we could forget about what had happened for a second, and just go back to being friends, then it would all be easier, but we can't. But maybe we could just ignore it for now, and just enjoy each other's company."

 

"Okay, sure." Alex followed Piper back into the room, a sour look on Larry's face. "So what are we watching?"

 

"Uh... The Invisible Man." Piper replied. 

 

* * *

 

 The next day was a fairly slow day. Everyone was hungover from the night before. They knew they needed to have a quiet day before a huge amount of people arrive for the big party. 

 

Kathryn knew a few people, but the neighbour knew tons of people, which solved that. He was able to bring over tons of alcohol, as well as what Pete had brought up. Lorna was hesitant to use her fake i.d, that’s not really why she got it. Nicky on the other hand was totally up for it. 

 

Piper and Alex hadn’t spoken sine the night before, but they didn’t run away from each other either. If they saw each other they would smile, and speak if they were having a conversation with the same people. 

 

But the words that Alex said still remained in their mind.  _Maybe we were a bad idea._  

 

Everyone was in the main house watching TV. Alex couldn’t stand being with them, especially with Nicky trying to charm Lorna every single second. 

 

Alex had gone back to the other house. She was sitting on the deck with a beer in hand. She was listening to some of the records that Kathryn had up there, but she knew that it had to be her father and mothers record collection. 

 

There were footsteps coming up the stairs, and Piper appeared. 

 

“What brings you here?” Alex asks as Piper walks over. 

 

“I noticed you were gone… and I just thought i’d come and say hi.” She sat down beside her. 

 

“Oh?” Alex arched an eyebrow. 

 

“You sure you’re ready to start drinking again? Last time it didn’t go very well…” 

 

“I think this time, I’m safe.”

 

“Look about the other night-“ Piper started.

 

“I’m sorry.” Alex interrupted. “I didn’t mean what I said, because… well I’m a fucking idiot who manages to do everything completely wrong.” 

 

“You are an idiot.” Piper nudged her jokingly. 

 

A really catchy song came on and Alex jumped up and held her hand out for Piper. When she took it, Alex lead her inside. 

  
Piper took a second to take off her puffy coat, but Alex didn’t take off her leather jacket. It was so cold she practically lived in it. 

 

The two of them danced like idiots. Alex laughed at Piper because she really had no clue about the beat of the song. 

 

“Have you never heard this song before?” Alex asked. 

 

“I haven’t no!” 

 

“What?” Alex was shocked. “The Police are amazing. This is fucking great song.” Alex said as she walked over to the record player. “Okay now we’re going to have some fun.” Alex took out another record and put it in. 

 

During the few seconds of static, Alex walked over to the blonde, took her by the hands as if it was going to be some romantic ballad was about to play. 

 

Before Piper knew it, Rock Lobster by The B-52’s was blasting through the speakers,  causing her to break out laughing. Her face scrunching up as she killed herself with laughter. 

 

“You are the most adorable thing ever.” Alex said wrapping her arms around her, and squeezing tightly. 

 

“Wait Alex, what are you doing?” Piper said as Alex picked her up and started walking. 

 

Alex walked out the door and down the stairs, Piper laughing and yelling. 

 

The next thing the blonde knew she was laying down in the snow. “Oh my god!” She shouted as Alex killed herself laughing. 

 

Piper threw a snowball, hitting Alex right in the face. The blonde then stood up, laughing at the snow still on her glasses. 

 

“Really?” Alex tried to hide her smile. 

 

“Really.” Piper kissed Alex on the cheek, and made her way back up the stairs and inside. 

 

The two were back inside, listening to music that wasn’t anything like Rock Lobster. They were on Alex’s bed just talking. 

 

“It’s getting late, and tomorrow’s going to be crazy.” Piper said as she stood off the bed. 

 

“Uh yeah.” Alex stood up. 

 

Piper could see in Alex’s eyes that she didn’t want her to go. She put her hands on Alex’s cheeks, pulling her in for a kiss. They both melted into it, Alex’s hands wrapped around the blonde, keeping her close. 

 

Alex was such a soft and passionate kisser. The complete opposite of Larry, who was rough and aggressive. 

 

“You are the most amazing person ever.” Alex softly said as she pulled away. “I never got a chance to thank you for my Christmas present…” She sat down on the bed. 

 

 

“Right, you like it and everything, yeah?”

 

“Like it? Pipes, I love it.”. 

 

 

“I’m glad.”   
  
The two of them lay down on the bed, staring into each others eyes. Alex brushed Pipers hair behind her ear, and kissed her softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Think that was a... nicer ending then last chapter! There is still one more chapter revolving this trip. So get excited for that... 
> 
> Any suggestions on what you would like to see in further chapters would be awesome! I love hearing what you guys think!


	17. New Years Eve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your reviews have all been amazing! I love hearing what you think.   
> This is the last part of their trip... And I really hope you enjoy it!

 December 31st. 

 Piper woke up wrapped in Alex’s arms. The raven haired girl was fast asleep. Piper got up slowly and quietly walked down the stairs, put on her coat and boots, and walked over to the main house. 

 

Kathryn, Sarah, and Polly were all getting things for the party. Pete, Larry, Nicky, and Lorna had all gone out to get more things for the party.

 

One of the neighbours was over already. 

 

“Oh Piper, hey! This is Eric.” Polly said greeting the blonde and pointing over to the average hight guy in a black shit, and dark jeans. 

 

“Hey.” Piper replied, taking off her winter gear. She then walked over and poured herself a mug of coffee. 

 

“Hey, late night?” Eric said to Piper with a noticeable british accent. 

 

Piper looked over to the clock on the stove.  _12:25pm._  “Shit it’s late.” 

 

Sarah and Piper hadn’t had much interaction over the few days. Piper had assumed it was because she was with Alex at first, but she wasn’t really sure. Ever since the night Lorna arrived her and Kathryn hadn’t spoken much either. 

 

Polly had been really busy with Pete, so Piper was hanging out with Nicky and Lorna mostly. Yesterday she had spent quite a bit of time with Larry. 

 

Just as Piper made her way into the living room Alex walked in. She eyed Kathryn and Sarah who just glared at her. Polly hesitantly greeted the girl and introduced her to Eric. Alex said hi and then made her way into the living room where Pipe was.

 

“You’re up!” Piper looked over to the tall girl walking over to her. 

 

“Loud stairs.” She sat down. 

 

“Sorry.” The blonde planted a soft kiss on Alex’s lips. 

 

“Shit, look’s like I don’t have a chance with either of you.” Eric interrupted. 

 

The two of them looked at him weirdly, as if he was being rude by interrupting their moment.

 

“That was my bad attempt at a joke…” He continued. 

 

“Sure.” Alex replied. “So Eric, what brings you here so early?”

 

“I thought I’d help out. I know how crazy parties up here can get.”

 

“I never pictured Canadians as the party type.” Piper added. 

 

“Well looks like you two are going to be in for a treat.” 

 

* * *

 

A few people had arrived, but they were all mainly friends of Kathryns. 

 

Alex and Piper were in the TV room alone together while everyone else were talking and drinking in the kitchen. 

 

Neither of them had spoken in a while, a lot was on their minds. Piper was looking at Alex, thinking about how to start a conversation that could either end badly, or really well. 

 

“I was curious… about what it would be like being with a girl…” Piper started. Alex turned her attention from the TV to her. “You remember when Kathryn sort of stole your phone?”

 

“Right, that’s why I hate her.” Alex reminded herself. 

 

“Well they went through your phone… And I read the texts too…”

 

“Oh…” Alex looked away. 

 

“And I saw this conversation you had with Nicky… and I got curious.” 

 

“Wait, what conversation?”

 

“You were talking about a girl who Nicky claimed you had a crush on and my first thought was that it was me… I don’t know why, but that thought made me feel, happy, and I guess I got curious and-“

 

“Okay so you read my texts, and then just assumed that I was talking about you? Are you kidding?”

 

“I got curious and then I… I started to really like you… But I never thought of you as an experiment. Curious yeah… But never for a second did I think we would just hook up and then leave.” 

 

The word ‘leave’ stuck in Alex’s head. That was what she was scared of, right? Piper leaving, so Alex left first. She blew up in Piper’s face and left. 

 

“Remember when we first became friends?” Alex said. 

 

“You mean when you asked me if I would be your friend?” Piper started to laugh. 

 

“Yeah…” Alex sighed. “That wasn’t really what I meant to say… But it worked out so…” 

 

“Wait what the hell did you mean to say?”

 

“Shit…” Alex sighed. “I meant to ask if you had to be back in class…” 

 

“Jerk.” Piper playfully hit her on the arm. 

 

* * *

 

_8pm_

 

There were tons of people going in and outside. There were some people having a snowball fight and building forts while drunk. Others were blasting music and dancing in the living room. At the other house people were drinking and playing pool while blasting more music. 

 

Nicky was in the living room with Alex, watching people. Piper had gone off some where, Alex was just hoping it wasn’t with Larry. 

 

“I’m going to go get a drink.” Alex yelled. Nicky just nodded her head.

 

She made her way into the kitchen where Kathryn was, along with a few other people. Alex passed her and got a beer. 

 

“So, you and Piper have a fight?” Kathryn smirked. 

 

“Fuck off.” 

 

“Rumour has it her and Larry hooked up.” 

  
“What?”

 

“Looks like you didn’t hear…” 

 

“Kathryn I don’t know what your fucking problem is with me, but you seriously need to fuck off. You have been nothing but a bitch to me ever since I transferred schools.”

 

“Do we have a problem here?” Sarah walked up to the two of them. 

 

“Great.” Alex rolled her eyes. 

 

“Did your  _girlfriend_  finally break up with you?”

 

“You know, for someone who claims to be Pipers friends, you speak pretty poorly of her when you say shit like that.” 

 

“Hey… shut up.” Kathryn tried to say something better, but it didn’t work. 

 

“Piper’s great and all, but if she sleeps around with pathetic people like you, then I don’t care to be her friend.” Sarah replied. 

 

“You’re a fucking bitch.” Alex said as she walked closer to the girl, making herself look taller. 

 

“If you think you can intimidate me with your size, you are sadly wrong.” 

 

Kathryn, who was a bit taller, stepped in between the two. “Why don’t you back the fuck off.”  


“Whatever.”  Alex turned around, about to walk away, and then turned around to say one more thing. “I don’t care what you say to me, but don’t you ever talk about Piper as if she’s a piece of garbage, because she is the most amazing person you will ever know.” 

 

That left the two of them speechless.

 

Alex walked into the TV room where people managed to stay away from. She sat down and rested her head on a pillow. Someone walked in and closed the door behind them. 

 

“Man I didn’t realize she was such a bitch” Eric said sitting down. 

 

“Oh you have no idea.” Alex replied. 

 

“You are a pretty tough person. It’s nice to see someone who will actually stand up for their girlfriend like that.” 

 

“Well… She’s worth it.” 

 

At some point during the night Nicky stumbled in, slamming the door shut. She lay down, her feet across Alex’s lap. She joined Alex and Eric’s conversation about music. They were talking about which Dead Kennedy's album was the best. 

 

“Do you two really find this interesting?” Nicky chimed in. 

 

“You’d find it interesting too if you weren’t drunk as fuck.” Alex replied. 

 

“Right, well this has been fun, but it’s about ten minutes to midnight, and I’d rather not kiss someone who is taken.” Eric stood up. “It’s been great talking to you Alex. Have a good trip back to New York.” He left and closed the door. 

 

Nicky sat up and looked straight over to Alex. “Holy shit Vause, that guy has a total hard on for you.” 

 

“Well… Who’d blame him?” Alex joked. 

 

“Fuck did he say it was almost midnight?” 

 

“Uh yeah.” 

 

The two of them stood up. Nicky headed into the living room where Lorna was dancing. Alex looked around for Piper, but didn’t see her anyone. 

 

“Fuck she must be at the other house.” Alex mumbled to hers as she got on her leather jacket and ran outside. 

 

She made her was up the stairs and looked to see if anyone was on the deck. There were a few people passing around a joint. Alex rolled her eyes and walked in.

 

It was more calm over here, but still pretty loud. “Fuck.” She said, as it was about 2 minutes to midnight. 

 

Alex scanned the room for her, but she was still nowhere to be found. She then walked up the stairs where there were a few people. There was a laugh.  _Piper._

 

She started walking towards her bed when people started counting down from 10. When she got there she saw Polly, Pete, Piper, and Larry sitting together. 

 

Polly and Pete were counting down loudly, while Piper and Larry were sitting awkwardly. Larry looked super excited about the fact that he was about to another shot at Piper.

 

Piper looked concerned and guilty for just being with him at that moment. What she was feeling made her feel worse. 

 

The loud chanting came down to three. Larry looking ready to go in for the kiss, while Piper was trying to figure out what a good reaction would be.

 

 Alex walked over and took Pipers face in her hands and kissed her right as people yelled ‘Happy New Year’. 

 

Piper stood up and relaxed into the kiss. “Happy new year.” 

 

“Sorry bud.” Alex said looking at Larry. 

 

* * *

 

It was about 3am when people had cleared out and into the main house. Piper, Alex, Nicky, and Lorna were all at the other house. 

 

They were exhausted from the long night. Nicky and Lorna had fallen asleep quickly, leaving Alex and Piper alone. 

 

The two of them were laying in bed, trying to get to sleep. Alex always fell asleep after Piper, but this night that didn’t happen. Instead Piper was the last to fall asleep. She kept thinking about what had happened over the past few days. 

 

Alex had told her about what had happened between her, Kathryn, and Sarah. But she was mainly thinking about Larry.  _Sure he can be sort of a jerk, but he’s a really sweet guy._  

 

She looked over to Alex who looked so calm and peaceful. It killed Piper to even think this at this very moment, but she thought about if they were meant to be together, of if the past few days were a big sign that pointed her towards Larry. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so don't hate me... But this is necessary. Larry and Piper play a huge part in Alex and Pipers relationship. But in the mean time... Please don't hate me...


	18. Well that was weird. What happens next?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so I know chapter 17 was a bit... Meh. I am not a fan of Larry as a character, but Piper and Alex have this very intense love/hate relationship, and Larry has to do with the 'hate' part of their relationship. (Even if they don't actually end up hating each other.) I hope that little thing cleared up the whole Larry side of things. 
> 
> BUT as summer is ending and I go back to school on Tuesday, I've decided to do something special, and that is:  
> Today, Saturday, and Sunday, I will post one chapter per day. And then on Tuesday I will post another!
> 
> Okay... enough talking from me... Read away!

It was the day before school started, and everyone was back in New York. The car trip home was long and quiet. 

  
Alex was over at Nicky’s house. The two of them figured they would spend some time together, as they felt out of each others lives.  


“So, you going to see Lorna again?”

 

“Well, I hope so, but apparently she need’s to spend most of her time with Christopher…”

 

“Oh right, the boyfriend.” 

 

Silence. 

 

“Hey so how’s it going with Piper?”

 

“After I tried to fix it, thing’s seemed pretty good… That is, until I found her with Larry on New Years Eve.” 

 

“Shit seriously? Man I am so out of the loop… Wait, they weren’t doing anything, were they?”

 

“Uh no, although it sort of seemed like there could have been something going on.”

 

“Did you ever ask her what happened that night you two had that fight?”

 

“I trust her, so no, I didn’t.”

 

“Sure, but from what I heard shit went down… But then again you really cant trust what you hear from Sarah.” 

 

“Fuck. How can Piper even still be friends with those jerks? I mean, they’ve been awful to me ever since I first got to the fucking school…”

 

“Sometimes it takes a while to see how bad people are. She’ll see it at some point.”

 

“God I hope so.” 

 

The two of them spent the rest of the night talking about what had happened. They laughed at all the stupid things that had happened, but the thought of Larry and Piper never left her mind. 

 

“Hey remember that guy Eric?” Nicky asked. 

 

“Sort of yeah, why?”

 

“Well apparently him and Kathryn use to date.”   


“Seriously? Man that guy must have low standards… And I really started to like him too.” 

 

“I think the weirdest part about that is the fact that he looks like he’s 25.” 

 

“Well... Wait. How old is her even?” 

 

—————

 

The first day of school was slow. Everyone was tired, and slightly confused about the date. Piper hadn’t spoken to Kathryn or Sarah about their argument with Alex, and she didn’t plan on talking to them right away. 

 

Alex was late to class, as normal, and she walked into class minutes before Polly. Kathryn and Sarah were talking to each other, wondering why Piper wasn’t sitting with them. 

 

“You’re in my seat.” Alex sat down in the desk beside Piper. 

 

“I didn’t realize how far away your desk was from those two.” 

 

“Ah, not wanting to talk to them?”

 

“Not after what they said to you… about me…”

 

“Shit, i’m still sorry about that Pipes. I know you guys have been friends for a while and-“

 

“Yeah we hung out a lot, but I never thought they ever knew me. They never have.” Piper interrupted. 

 

Alex put her hand on Pipers shoulder. “You’re way too fucking good for them anyway.” 

 

Polly sat down in the seat in front of Piper and asked “We avoiding them or something?” pointing towards Kathryn and Sarah. 

 

“I’m not really sure we’re friends.” Piper replied.

 

“Really?” Polly questioned. 

 

“I’ll talk to you about it later, when they're not right there.” Piper eyed the two. 

* * *

 

Alex had gone off to hang out with Nicky while Piper and Polly ate lunch at the school. 

 

Piper had explained the whole deal with Kathryn and Sarah, and Polly was honestly shocked. She completely understood why Piper wanted nothing to do with them, especially after hearing how horrible they were to Alex.

 

“So, have you spoken to them about it? I mean, do they know you aren’t friends anymore?”  


“I think they’ll get the hint… Confronting them would make things worse.” 

 

“Right…” 

 

There was a silence between the two as they ate their food. 

 

“And what’s up with you and Larry?”

 

“What?” Piper was surprised at the question.  

 

“Please, I may have been busy with Pete, but I noticed some things. Now c’mon, what’s with you two?”

 

“Nothing. Nothing’s up with us.”

 

“Are you sure?” Polly eyed her friend. 

 

“Yeah I’m sure Pol. He’s a nice guy, and he’s sweet, but he was sort of an ass when we went to that party… and he punched Alex.” 

 

“To be fair, she punched him first.” 

 

“Right… But there’s nothing going on with us. He likes me, sure. But I like Alex.”

 

“Are you trying to convince me that, or yourself?”

 

“I’m trying to tell you that there is nothing going on. He’s nice, but he’s so dull and ordinary.” 

 

“Unlike your girlfriend.” Polly’s tone came out more sarcastic then intended, because she really meant it. He was the opposite of Alex. 

 

“Polly seriously, I don’t plan on anything happening between me and Larry any time soon.” 

 

“Any time soon?”

 

“Oh shut up, you know what I meant.” 

 

“So thing’s are good with you and Alex?”  


“Things are good, yeah.”

 

“And that sounds convincing.” 

 

“Geez Pol, what’s with the questions? Alex and I are doing well. We’re going out on Saturday.” Piper said, a smile appearing on her face.

 

“Well then if everything's so great with you, why the sudden change of mind towards Larry? You and Alex made up, but you still ended up with him on New Years.” 

 

"I was trying to get away and find her, you know that right?"

 

"You were?"

 

"Yeah, except you kept keeping me there. You kept sitting on me and blocking my way out."

 

"Okay so it's my fault you were with him..."

 

"It was, yeah."

 

"But in the end you didn't hate it."

 

"I'm getting really tired of all of this."

 

"Look Piper, I get it. Things are sort of weird, and I honestly think what Alex said to you during your fight freaked you out. But please, just don't be stupid about this. She stuck around even with Kathryn and Sarah around. But if you end up doing anything with Larry while you two are together, I can guarantee she will never forgive you."

* * *

 

“You know, I really miss not hang to be at school. I can’t wait until I get out of that hell hole.” Alex sat down in the chair across from Nicky at the coffee shop. 

 

“Really? I thought you would love seeing Larry around school.” 

 

“That’s your favourite topic now, isn’t it?”

 

“You know it.” Nicky smirked. “But really, do you see him a lot?”

 

“I passed him in the hall this morning, but he sort of just ran away.”

 

“Man I wish I could see this shit.” 

 

Nicky’s phone buzzed, and she opened the message. 

 

_Lorna- See you after school?_

 

_Nicky- Sure, i’ll pick you up at your school._

 

“That Lorna?” Alex asked. 

 

“Mhmm.” She paused as she put her phone down. “Is it weird that i’m sort of in to the cousin of someone you hate?”

 

“It’s really fucking weird, but you know, she’s pretty cool.”

 

“I didn’t actually get to spend a lot of time with Kathryn or Sarah, which I find disappointing.”

 

“Trust me you don’t want to spend time with them. You really don’t.” 

 

“I miss being at the same school as you Vause.”

 

“Same.” 

 

“It’s been a crazy few months, hasn’t it? I mean, you, Alex Vause, have a girlfriend. And not just to have sex with.”

 

“And you like a girl you can’t get with. Yeah it’s been a crazy few months. But please tell me we aren’t going to get into some deep conversation remembering all the things that have happened.”  


“Fine, but you know you like remembering the good old times.”

 

“Shut up.” Alex laughed. 

 

“Sure. But okay, tell me this, is that girl hot or what? Because I mean… wheew” Nicky pointed over to a girl who was standing, waiting for her order. 

 

A smile crossed Alex’s face as she noticed Nicky was pointing to Piper. “Again, shut up.”  She stood up and walked over to her girlfriend. “Thanks for the… Tea.” Alex said as she took the cup out of Pipers hand and took a sip. 

 

“Hey!” Piper took her drink back. “And hey.” she smiled. 

 

“What are you doing here? Class starts in like… 5 minutes ago.” 

 

“Polly talked me into coming here, we’re on our way back now. Please tell me you are coming. I don’t want to deal with Kathryn alone.” 

 

Alex sighed. “Fine, I’ll come now.”

 

* * *

 

Alex sat in class bored, wondering why she let Piper drag her back into the boring, dull, place called school. 

  
She was spaced out, ignoring whatever the teacher had to say. Business was a class that was just boring to her. Why she didn’t know, because if she really tried she would easily be able to be a business person. 

 

There was a break of silence in the room, as the teacher had to leave the room to make photocopies of their lesson. Alex felt a tap on her should, and someone call her name. 

 

She snapped out of her daze and looked over to see a Gerard, a tall guy with short wavy blond hair, standing above her. “You uh, dropped your pencil and I just thought you’d want it back.” He said as he handed over a pencil. 

 

“Thanks, but uh, that’s not my pencil…” Alex replied. 

 

“Right” He looked down at his feet. Alex looked to her side where Piper was sitting, and she was laughing silently watching the whole thing. 

 

“Is there something else you want?”

 

He was about to say something when the teacher walked back in, told a kid to hand out the pieces of paper, and told him to sit back down. His desk was behind Alex’s, so he continued to say what he wanted to. “The uh, drama class is looking for some tech people to help out, and I just thought you would I don’t know… wanna help?”

 

Alex turned around and looked at the kid. “uh… It sounds like a  _super_  fun time, but I'm going to have to pass on the offer.” 

 

“Okay… but the offer is still open if you ever change your mind.” He smiled, and then looked back at his book. 

 

Piper leaned over to Alex and looked disappointed. “I really thought he was going to ask you out.” She whispered. 

 

“Are you serious?” 

 

“Sort of… But that didn’t happen. Why’d you deny the offer anyway?”

 

Alex just ignored the question by answering “Not really my thing.” Even though that wasn’t really why she didn’t accept. 

 

* * *

 

It was late, and Alex couldn’t get to sleep. The time on her clock was  _2:45_  which normally wasn’t that late for her, but with school making her get up early, it was quite late. 

 

Night’s like these were the night’s that Alex didn’t mind her mom being out at work. She was pleased when her mother didn’t have to work night shifts, in fact she was supposed to be getting home earlier then usual tonight, but not any time before  _5_ , but being home allowed gave her more freedom. 

 

She took out the vinyl that Piper had given her for christmas, and walked put it into the old record play she had in her room. Alex loved the static-y noise that came with playing records. 

 

The first song came on.

 

On night’s like these, Alex would always think back to when she was a little kid, with no one to really talk to. Why she would always go back to those memories she didn’t know. It was like her brain just wouldn’t let go of them. But every now and then they would just flood her mind. 

 

Alex lay on her floor, looking up at the ceiling, listening to her fathers band. She kept thinking back to when her and Nicky first became friends. 

 

* * *

 

**A young Alex sat at the small picnic table in the school yard. Jessica Wedge and all her other friends were playing not too far away from where Alex was sitting. They always acted too cool to do anything that kids do at their age.**

 

**Alex was eating a sandwich out of her paper lunch bag. It was cold out, and she never understood why they made all the kids go outside to eat lunch in the freezing cold.**

 

**Wearing her blue and white winter coat, and he new shoes that her mother got her, she stood up and threw her garbage in the garbage can.**

 

**Nicky stepped outside into the cool air, and almost walked right into Alex on her way back to the bench.**

 

**“Oh… S-“ Nicky stopped herself from apologizing, even though she knew she should have. With Jessica and all her friends close by, she couldn’t risk saying the wrong thing.**

 

**“Sorry.” Alex said shy. She walked back to the table and took out a book. All the kids made fun of her because everyone in grade three thought they were way too cool to read. No one made fun of her more for reading though, was Jessica.**

 

**Alex read amazingly well. Her mother could never afford to get her all the cool new thing’s the other kids had, so she would always get books. She loved reading.**

 

**“Hey pigstye, how about you move.” Jessica said as she sat across from Alex.**

 

**She put down the book and saw a group of girls all standing in front of her.**

 

**“Come on, we don’t really need to sit here, do we?” Nicky asked.**

 

**The bell rang, singling the end of lunch. All the other kids rushed inside.**

 

**“Kids, come on!” The teacher yelled, before walking inside.**

 

**“Let’s go!” Nicky started to walk towards the door.**

 

**“Fine.” Jessica stood up and started walking, small group of girls following.**

 

**Alex put her book in her bag, and started walked inside. Jessica stuck out her leg, making Alex trip and fall, on the small stairs leading inside.**

 

**“Ow!” She yelled, as everyone rushed inside. Alex’s jacket ripped slightly, and scraped her knee badly. Knowing being outside any longer would get her in trouble, she picked her self up quickly, and ran inside, ignoring the amount of pain she was in.**

 

**She hung up her coat and bag in her cubby, and walked into the class room only to ask to go to the bathroom.**

 

**Alex made her way into the bathroom, rolled up her pant leg to see her scrape. There was a lot of blood on her knee. Most nine year old’s would have been crying and running to the teacher by now, but that wasn’t who Alex was.**

 

**Nicky walked into the bathroom, and saw Alex looking at her cut.  
**

**“I’m sorry about that.” Nicky took a piece of paper towel and wet it with water. “Here.”**

 

**“Thanks.” Alex said shyly. She took the paper towel, and put it on her cut. The short sting of pain made her flinch, but she soon got use to the pain.**

 

**“It’s Alex, right?”**

 

**“uhm, yeah.”**

 

**“I’m Nicky.”**

 

**Alex didn’t respond. She didn’t know how to reply.**

 

**“I always feel bad whenever she does this kind of thing to you. Jessica, I mean.”**

 

**“Don’t be. Jessica’s just a bitch.”**

 

**Hearing someone swear at that age was surprising. Swearing was thought to be a bad thing by nine year olds, but it was something Alex was sue to hearing. Nicky trying to act unfazed by it, just nodded her head.**

 

**Alex stood up after wiping away the blood. “You didn’t have to help.”**

 

**“I know, but I wanted to. I don’t like seeing you get hurt.”**

 

**Again, Alex didn’t know what to say.**

 

**“You know, you are pretty cool.” Nicky said as she gave the girl a genuine smile before walking out of the room.**

 

**_Cool_  was never something that she thought defined her. Lame, boring, dull, were words she thought described her; but hearing someone call her cool made her day just a little better. **

 

* * *

 

Piper and Nicky were standing outside of Pipers school. Nicky didn't feel like getting to class on time, so she decided to walk her to school. 

 

"So where is Alex anyway?" Nicky asked. 

 

"I don't know, I thought you did."

 

"Nope. She told me she was going to make her own way to school today."

 

"Huh."

 

It's was 8:45 and Piper needed to get to class. Why she had to be fifteen minutes early, she didn't know. She just had to be. 

 

"Look I have to get to-" Piper stopped talking as she watched Larry walking up to the two of them. "Shit."

 

"What?" Nicky looked over her shoulder. "Oh."

 

"Hey." Larry said as he reached the two of them. "Piper you coming?"

 

Piper had forgotten that she had first period with him. It was because of Sarah that this whole mess of a thing with him even started. "I'll be in soon. I'm just talking to my friend over here."

 

"Okay." He started walking towards the entrance, and then turned around again. "You look good in that hat." 

 

"Thanks." Was her only response. She could have mentioned that Alex got it for her, but she couldn't get herself to say it. It was like she didn't actually hate the idea of him. 

 

Larry smiled and then continued to walk inside. 

 

"Well he seems like a bucket full of fun!" Nicky said sarcastically. 

 

"He's a nice guy though."

 

"Right." Nicky noticed how much Piper had started smiling when he left. "Anyway Chapman, let me know if you hear for Alex, your girlfriend. I'm curious to know where she is." 

 

It was like Piper snapped out of some intense thought by how startled she seemed by Nicky patting her on the back. "Yeah, I'll let you know. See you later Nicky." She started walking into school. 

 

"This might not end well..." Nicky sighed before reluctantly making her way towards her own school. 

 

* * *

 

Alex woke up startled. Her room was bright full of sunlight. She slowly stood up off of her floor, squinting her eyes in attempt to see more clearly. 

 

She picked up glasses and out them on her face. The time was 12:40.  

 

"Fuck." 

 

When she walked outside of her room and down the hall into the living room her mother was on the couch reading. "What the hell are you doing here?"

 

"I uh... Slept in." Alex said walking into the kitchen, reaching for a bowl.

 

"Right, well just learn to set an alarm or something next time. Don't need you flunking out of high school."

 

Alex poured herself a big bowl of cereal and sat on the couch beside her mother. "I'm pretty sure I'm passing all my classes."

 

"Well good for you." Diane mumbled before looking up and closing her book. "Hey, I'm getting some time off soon."

 

The tone in her voice didn't sound like she was getting vacation time, which made Alex start to worry. "Wait what do you mean?"

 

"The grocery store I work in is going under renovations. Weather or not they re-open and let us have our job back, I'm not sure. There's a chance it will get bought and become a fucking condo."

 

"Oh crap. Mom... I'm sorry."

 

"Just means I'm probably going to have to find another fucking job. Things may be a little tight for a while though."

 

Things had been a little tight for ages. For as long as Alex could remember things were just 'a little tight.'  

 

"I still have my contact, I think I could get another job on a set. Maybe help out a little."

 

"What about school?"

 

"I'll work at night. Mostly I just run and get people coffee. It'll be fine."

 

Diane sighed, not wanting he daughter to end up doing what she's doing, but also keeping her grades up at school. "You don't need to Alex, but if you want to, it'll really help."

 

"I'll call the guy later."

 

There were no more words spoken about that. Diane went back to reading her book, and Alex ate her cereal. 

 

* * *

 

Diane had left for he shift, and Piper was on her way over. 

 

Alex had just gotten off the phone with Miles, the producer of a project that she could possibly get a job on, when Piper knocked on her door. 

 

"Hey," Piper walked in. "Everything okay?"

 

"What- uh, yeah. Yeah I just... Got off the phone with this guy."

 

"Why weren't you at school today anyway?" Piper sat down on the couch. 

 

Alex sat down on the other end of the couch, and leaned against the armrest. "I slept in and I just never made it there." She paused. "And then my mom said she may be let go at one of her jobs."

 

"Oh no, that's horrible."

 

 

"I was just trying to see if I could get a job to help out around here..."

 

"And...?"

 

"Well, I was going to work on a movie set, like I did last summer, but this time what they need is a teach person for lights and microphones and shit. They don't start shooting until June."

 

"That's great!"

 

"It would be, but the guy said I need some experience with tech stuff, and I don't have any experience."

 

"Oh..." Piper was silent for a moment while she thought. "You could take up that kids offer and help out the with the tech department."

 

"Pipes I already told you, it's not really... My thing..."

 

"Alex we both know that's not the real reason."

 

Alex sighed. "I'm just not sure id be any good at it... I mean, i don't mix well with people... I never have..." 

 

Piper moved closer to her. "You really don't see how other people see you."

 

"What does  _that_  mean?"

 

"It means that you charm the hell out of people. You mix really well with people, and they like you."

 

"It's never seemed like that." She looked away. 

 

"That's because you intimidate people because you are you. You've got so much figured out, and people don't know how to deal with someone like that."

 

Alex looked back towards Piper, who had the most genuine smile on her face. 

 

"You're too cool for everyone." Alex started to laugh at that comment. "So you'll talk to them about joining?"

 

"Fine" Alex sighed. "But don't blame me if I become so weird drama nerd. That's on you."

 

"I'd love to see that happen... Even though tech nerd is more appropriate." 


	19. Bonfire.

It had been a few months since Alex had gotten the offer to work as the drama stage crew, and she still had not accepted the offer. Piper had been on her about it for a while, but at some point she stopped trying, hoping that Alex would eventually do it on her own.

 

The second semester of school started off weirdly for Piper. Her, Kathryn, and Sarah had never actually spoken about what had happened, and it seemed like they were never going to. It was like Sarah knew what she had said about Piper to Alex was going to be it. She knew what the problem was, and she didn’t care to fix it. 

 

Polly still continued to speak to them when they had class together, but it wasn’t as if they were friends. She spoke to them because she knew them. 

 

Recently Piper and Polly had started hanging out with Pete and his friends, which meant hanging around Larry. Whenever Alex was around though, Piper always hangout with her instead of Polly and Pete. 

 

It was a sunday night, which meant sunday dinner with the family at the Chapman house.

 

“So how’s Polly?” 

 

“She’s good, yeah. Doing well at school… Spending a lot of time with Pete…” 

 

“Pete?” Carol started to get rather intrigued. “Is that her boyfriend?” 

 

“Yep.” Was Pipers only response, hoping that didn’t get her mother started. But it did. 

 

“Why don’t you have a boyfriend? You know, the neighbours have a nice young boy who i’m sure would love to take you out on a date.” 

 

Piper rolled her eyes “I’m really not interested in going out with someone I don’t know.” 

 

“Well is there a boy you know who you would date?”

 

“N-“ Piper hesitated for a second, thinking about Larry, but that was ridiculous because she only liked Alex, right? “No.” 

 

“Who have you been spending so much time with if it isn’t a boyfriend?” Her father chimed in. 

 

“I’ve been hanging out with Alex.” There was an awkward moment before Piper realized she had to name more then just Alex. “And her friend Nicky, and Polly.” 

 

“Right, well as long as you’re not doing drugs and passing school, hangout with them all you want.” Bill replied, as if he didn’t really care about the conversation, he just felt like he had to contribute something. 

 

Cal was sitting at the table silently laughing at what was going on. 

 

“What are you laughing at?” Piper gave Cal a look that basically just said ‘shut up.’

 

“Nothing, it’s just funny because Alex-“

 

“No!” Piper yelled, startling both her mother and father. 

 

“What about Alex?” Her mother eyed Piper, hoping there would be a good explanation, and not a bad one. 

 

“Its just that Alex…” She didn’t really know any good excuse except for one she knew Alex would kill her for using. “Has a boyfriend…”

 

“That girl, before you? Well.” Her mother said in a rather stuck up tone. 

 

“Uh huh.” Cal mumbled to himself before looking down and playing with his food. 

 

“What’s the guys name?” 

 

“Uh…” Piper couldn’t think of anyone Alex would be fake-dating. “His name is… Also Pete…” 

 

* * *

 

“ _Really? You told your parents that I was dating a guy named Pete right after you told them Polly was dating a guy named Pete… Good job.”_

 

“Uh…”

 

“ _You really couldn’t have thought of another thing to say?_ ”

 

“I’m really sorry. Besides it was Cal’s fault for even bringing you up.” 

 

“ _Fine. Your brother really needs to mind his own business.”_

 

“Yeah, I’m sorry.” 

 

“ _It’s fine. I’ll see you tomorrow Pipes. Goodnight.”_

 

“Goodnight.” Piper hung up the phone. 

 

* * *

 

Friday nights were Alex’s favourite night. She didn’t have to worry about getting up early the next morning, and her and Piper would always spend the night doing something. The two of them had still never had sex, mainly because Piper still thought she wasn’t ready. At lest that’s what she kept telling herself.

 

Most of the time they spent at Alex’s place, and other time’s they went over to Nicky’s. Tonight Nicky had invited the two of them over, as well as Lorna. 

 

“Are you kidding?” Alex asked as she sat on the floor in front of Nicky, opening a can of beer. 

 

“No I’m really serious. So now I get to stay in every lunch for two weeks helping my fucking teacher do… teacher-y stuff.  _yay!_ ” Nicky rolled her eyes.

 

“Lorna’s coming huh? How’s that going?”

 

“She’s great. Still dating Christopher, but you know, I’m really enjoying spending time with her. She’s a really cool person.”

 

“Well she better not replace me.” 

 

“Don’t worry Vause, you’re pretty irreplaceable.” Nicky smiled. 

 

The doorbell rang and Nicky raced up to answer it, hoping it was Lorna. “Oh.” It was Piper. 

 

“Great to see you too Nicky.” Piper said as she walked in through the door. “But uh, she’s right behind me.” 

  
“Hey!” Lorna waved as she walked up to the door.

 

Piper made her way downstairs where Alex was sitting alone. A smile appeared on Alex’s face the second she saw the blonde. “Nice sweater.” 

 

“You know, I don’t think I ever will give you your sweater back.” Piper sat down and took the beer out of Alex’s hand and took a sip. “Ew.” 

 

Alex laughed and took back her drink. Nicky and Lorna made their way down the stairs into the basement. 

 

“So what do you have planed for tonight Vause?” Nicky flopped down on the floor, back against the couch. 

 

“Me? You planned this whole thing.” 

 

  
“Right…”  


 

Silence. 

 

“We could always have a bonfire.” Nicky suggested. 

 

“Oh that’s true!” Alex replied. 

 

“Wait bonfire? Where’s there a fire pit?” Piper asked.

 

“Yeah. Have you ever been out in the backyard? It’s fucking huge, and there’s a fire pit.” Alex said. 

 

“Well it’s going to be getting dark soon, so maybe se should go out and get some stuff for s’mores?” Lorna added. 

 

“Yeah, yeah for sure!” Nicky stood up. “Alex and I will go get s’mores stuff. You two okay to just stay here?”

 

“Yep, we’ll be great here!” Lorna said enthusiastically. 

 

Alex and Nicky went upstairs and headed out to the store.

 

Piper and Lorna went upstairs into the kitchen, feeling uncomfortable as to what to do in someone else's home. Although Piper felt a little more comfortable, she still found it awkward. 

 

“So…” Piper said awkwardly. “You go to an all girls school, right?”  


“I do, yep.” 

 

“What’s that like?”

 

“Oh you know, it’s fun and great, just… I wish I could be at the same school as Christopher.” 

 

“Right, Christopher.”

 

“Yeah… Yeah he’s wonderful…”

 

Piper noticed a shift in Lorna’s mood the second she said ‘Christopher.’

 

 

“I don’t mean to really pry, but… Is everything alright with you two?”

 

“I uh- I don’t know. I mean, i’m crazy about him, i’m just not sure he really cares about  _us_  anymore…”

 

“Sorry.”

 

“It’s fun. I mean, now I get to hang out with Nicky more, right? And I do see him fairly often.” 

 

“Well that’s good. Nicky’s a pretty great person too, not a bad person to consider-“ Piper stopped herself, knowing that maybe she shouldn’t cross a certain line. 

 

Thankfully Lorna ignored what Piper was about to say, and changed the conversation. “Nicky has a seriously big house.” Lorna looked around, as if it was the first time she had been there. 

 

“Right? I’ve been here multiple times and I swear each time I discover a new room.” 

 

“I know, geez. I could get lost in here.” 

 

Nicky and Alex walked in the the door, talking so loudly, there was basically yelling. 

 

“Okay, dark chocolate is  _not_  something you would want on your s’mores right?” Nicky asked the two standing startled in the kitchen. 

 

“You’ll never let my love of dark chocolate go, will you?” Alex replied. 

 

“Because who the hell likes dark chocolate?” Nicky yelled. 

 

Piper laughed at the ridiculousness of the argument. Of course the two of them would be arguing over someones taste of chocolate. “She’s got a point. Dark chocolate is pretty tasteless and bitter.” 

 

“See, your girlfriend understands. Thank you Piper” A smug look crossed Nicky’s face. 

 

“Okay Lorna, who’s side are you on?” Alex asked, as the four of them started to walk outside and towards the fire pit.

 

“As much as I like milk chocolate… dark chocolate is…. Oh who am I kidding, Alex you’re weird.” Lorna replied as she sat down on one of the log’s.

 

The fire pit was surrounded by two-seat log’s to sit on. A little cabin where they store fire wood and various lighters. 

 

Nicky and Piper got out a few logs and threw them into the circle surrounded by rocks. Nicky took out a lighter and tried to start the fire. “See Alex, no one like’s dark chocolate.” Nicky said proudly.

 

“Let me help.” Piper took the lighter from Nicky, and started the fire. 

 

“Damn Chapman, you’re more hand’s on then I realized.” Nicky sat back on a log across from Lorna. 

 

The four of them sat in a circle, each on their own log, passing around graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate. Except for Alex, she had her own thing of dark chocolate. It was a pretty fun night to start with. They were laughing, making jokes and talking about some more serious stuff, although they mainly just joked around. 

 

At some point during the night Nicky and Lorna went inside to get high. Leaving Alex and Piper outside. 

 

Piper wasn’t one who really approved of drugs. She didn’t really mind being around people who did them, she just wasn’t one for them, and she was honestly worried about how much one could start to depend on them.

 

The two of them still sat across from each other. Piper’s phone chimed. 

 

_Larry- hey hey, how’s it going? :)_

 

_Piper- it’s going well. You?_

 

“Who are you texting? All your friends are… either here or inside getting baked.” 

 

“Oh uh… Larry…”

 

“Oh.” Alex wasn’t horribly surprised by this, she just tried not to over think it. 

 

Piper put away her phone, and went and sat next to Alex. “Hey so uhm-“

 

“Look Piper, was talked about this. I am going to talk to Gerard about the tech thing on Monday.” 

 

“Thank you, but that wasn’t what I was going to say”

 

“Oh, okay. Well what was it then?” Alex asked as she lifted up her glasses off of her face and onto her head. 

 

_Dammit, I hate how I love when she does that._  Piper thought before continuing to speak. “I was wondering if you would be okay if I hung out with Polly and Pete…”

 

“Yeah sure.” Alex replied as if that was the stupidest question she could hear at that moment. 

 

“…With Larry.” 

 

Alex frowned at that. “So it’s like a double date.” She looked away and sighed. 

 

“I don’t have to go, I just thought…”

 

“You just thought what?”

 

“I don’t know. I want to see my friend, and my friends boyfriend wants to hangout with his friend.”

 

“Whatever… If you want to go, then go. But just tell me it’s not a fucking date.”

 

Piper looked honestly into Alex’s eyes. “Please trust me Alex, the only person I’m going on dates with, is you.” 

 

* * *

 

It was Monday, and Alex knew she had to go into the drama room at some point during the day, and ask if being a part of the drama tech crew was still an option. 

 

She was also really dreading having to talk to Piper, as her non-double date with Larry was last night. 

 

Alex had gotten to school earlier then she normally did. It was a lot warmer out, and she decided to walk the long walk to school. When she got there, she saw Piper. As she was about to walk about to her, Polly, Pete, Larry, and a two other people walked up to her. 

 

“Right…” Alex sighed, as if she was expecting this.

 

She made her way inside, and toward the drama class. She took her time getting there, and by the time she got herself to go inside, class was about to start. 

 

The principal was walking the hall like he normally does to make sure everyone was in class, and of course, Alex was not. 

 

“Shouldn’t you be heading to class?”  


“Well I uh…” Alex wasn’t sure how to get her way out of this. Excuses didn’t work last time. “I was just…” 

 

“Right. Make your way to my office. You have detention for the next two weeks.” He said as he started walking again. 

 

“Wait, uh- Mr. Jamison.” A voice came from behind. Both Alex and the principal turned around to see Gerard standing in the hall. “The drama class had asked Alex for help. It’s all teacher approved, so uh, detention wouldn’t be necessary.” 

 

“Okay fine, but out of the hall.” He continued walking down the hall. 

 

“Wow, thank you.” Alex said as she walked over to him. 

 

“No problem. Now, are you here for tech crew?”

 

 

“I am, yeah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really curious to hear your guys' thoughts!


	20. The last month of school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Alright so this is a very interesting chapter... When writing it I honestly couldn't stop thinking of it as a season finale. (Although there won't be as much of a wait to find out what happens next...) But I personally really like this chapter, and I hope you guys do too!

The last month of school was always the weirdest. There was always a ton of work being done, but then by the end of the month it was like you could just screw off and do nothing.

A month had gone by since Alex accepted Gerard's offer. She had spent very little time learning anything about what to do. They went over the basics of using specific lights, microphones, and changing and angling the lights in the drama room.

There was the big end of year assembly coming up, and by being part of the drama tech crew really just meant you were part of the tech crew. Something Alex wasn't totally happy about.

Alex was walking down the hall to her next class when she saw Piper standing at her locker.

"Rough night?" Alex leaned agains the locker beside Pipers.

"Do I look that bad?"

"Not amazing, but you can never look bad." Alex smiled.

"The smoke detector kept going off last night. None of us know why itdid." She slammed her locker shut and started walking.

"You seem stressed. Everything okay?"

"Uh yeah, I just have a really important math test this afternoon and I need to do well on it."

"Right, I actually decided to study for it. But hey, I'm sure you'll do great." Alex put her arm around the blonde and pulled her closer.

"Thanks."

They continued to walk to class in silence. A few classrooms before they got to theirs, Larry appeared. He looked happy, and ready to talk to Piper that is, until he saw Alex with her arm around her. He then got this look on his face as if he just got caught cheating on a test. Scared and intimidated by the person who could actually have an affect on what happens next.

He continued to walk passed, giving Piper a small smile before dashing to his class.

"What was that about?" Alex chuckled.

"He's such an odd kid. But nice." Piper said as the two entered their classroom. They made their way to the back of the class, and sat down.

"Yeah I'm sure he's a super swell guy." Alex said sarcastically.

Piper pulled out her phone.

_Larry- Hahah yeah. Anyway, can we talk at lunch? It's important._

_Piper- Can't today._

"So uh… You ever hear from Sarah or Kathryn? Cause I saw them coming into school today, and it looked like they were ready to punch me… But you know, what's new?"

Piper put her phone down and looked up and sighed. "As fucked up as this may sound, I sort of miss them. I mean, they aren't great people, but they were my friends you know?"

"It is hard to let people go… But sometimes it's for the best. At lest they seem to not be planning anything horrible against us."

"Yeah. We can always hope they don't drop a bucket of pigs blood on at at prom." Piper laughed at her reference to a horror movie, even though it wasn't actually that funny.

* * *

_Nicky- Alright, I'll just eat lunch on my own… At school…_

_Alex- Sorry, apparently I have to learn how the auditorium lights and mic's work._

Lunch on fridays hadn't been the funnest thing for Alex. All the people who she worked with were cool, but having to miss lunch on friday wasn't.

Alex and Gerard had slowly started to become friendly. He was the one who showed her how to do things, and where to go.

When Alex arrived at the auditorium one of the other tech kids, Ted, was waiting there. "Hey Alex, Gerard wanted me to tell you that he's busy and that you should meet him here monday morning."

"Shit, okay. Thanks." Alex turned around, not knowing where she was going to go. Piper had told her she was busy with Polly, and Alex really didn't want to spend time with Polly.

"Uh, if you aren't busy, maybe we could go grab a coffee right now. I have nowhere to be." Ted said as caught up with her.

"Sure." Alex said hesitantly.

The two of them walked outside awkwardly. Alex didn't know Ted well at all, but she figured she had no one else to talk to.

"So, what classes are you taking next year?"

"Biology… This architecture course…" Alex trailed off named her courses.

Ted listened but he didn't really care. It was just one of those questions you can ask if nothing else worked.

When they got to the coffee shop, they stood in line and waited to order, still not saying much to each other.

"What are your plans for the weekend?" Ted asked as he picked up his drink.

"It's my girlfriends birthday tomorrow, and a few friends and I are throwing her a party."

"Oh cool, cool."

"What about you?" Alex asked as the two of them headed back towards school.

"My entire family is coming over for the weekend, so… I'm pretty much just going to hide in my room." Ted laughed. "Family get-togethers really suck don't they?"

"Yeah they really do." Alex mumbled.

* * *

_Saturday._

Piper had woken up to a big breakfast. A few nice gifts from her parents and brother. She wanted to spend the rest of her day hanging out with Alex, Polly, Nicky, and if she was being honest, Larry.

Of course, Nicky and Polly had wanted to throw a major party for her.

When Piper got to Nicky's house it was like Pete's party all over again. Loud music blasting, the faint smell of weed outside, and tons of empty beet cans everywhere.

Piper sighed as she walked inside and saw a ton of drunk teenagers dancing to crappy music.

She made her way through the house hoping she would numb into  _someone_  she knew. Which she did.

"Oh hey!" Piper said loudly over the music.

"Hey! Happy birthday!" Lorna hugged Piper.

"Thanks! uhm, have you seen Alex around?"

"Last time I saw her she was with Nicky outside"

"Right thanks. I'll see you around." Piper made her way outside, where there were still a lot of people, but it was surprisingly a lot quieter. She hadn't seen any of her friends all day, as they were obviously getting ready for this party.

She looked around, but still didn't see Alex or Nicky. But she did spot Polly and Pete, and Larry.

"Hey guys." Piper approached the three of them.

"Piper! Happy birthday!" Polly yelled out as she hugged her friend.

"Yeah happy birthday." Pete said as well.

"Thanks. This is a crazy party huh? I'm surprised Alex went for this…" Piper looked around at all the people.

"Yeah Alex wasn't really happy about this. She wanted it to be a small thing, but i just thought a few more people couldn't hurt. And then those few people I invited, invited more people… So sorry about that, but hey! It's going to be a fucking fun night!" Polly's vice was really loud.

"Right, well do you happen to know where Alex is?"

"Yeah! They were planning a small thing for you in the basement! They blocked it off from everyone else, so yeah. Check there!" Polly was obviously drunk, already. "hey Piper" She pushed her aside away from Pete and Larry. "I know I've been spending a shit-ton of time with Pete, but i'll make it up to you okay? We're gonna have some epic just-us time."

"Alright, cool. That sounds really great." Piper smiled "I'm going to go find Alex now."

Piper was on her way back inside the house when Larry stopped her.

"Hey." Larry said casually. "Happy birthday."

"Thank you" Piper smiled. Larry then pulled her in for a big hug. She hugged him back. "Look Larry, I'd love to stay and chat, but I really need to find Alex."

"Alright yeah, cool. I'll see you around."

Piper finally made it back inside and down to the basement. There weren't many lights on, but she heard some whispering.

"Hello?" Piper called out.

"Surprise!" a scatter of voices shouted, except no lights turned on.

"Fuck Nicky." Alex hit Nicky on the arm because she forgot to turn on the lights.

"Shit sorry." Nicky turned on the lights.

"Wow." was Piper's only response.

"Oh damn, did the party upstairs give it away?" Alex laughed.

"More like Polly, but hey, this is still a nice surprise." Piper walked over to her tall girlfriend, and kissed her.

"I'm sorry about the light delay Chapman. But at least you know they work." Nicky said as she flopped down on the couch beside Lorna. "and happy fucking birthday!"

Piper laughed and sat down on the couch. Alex sat down on the armrest of the couch beside her. Only the four of them were in the basement.

"Maybe Polly was smart to set up this whole party thing…" Piper mentioned.

"What, you bored of us already? Because I really thought we were having an exceptionally fun time here." Nicky stood up. "But yeah why don't we go upstairs?"

"I could use another drink so yeah, why not." Lorna stood up.

The three of them started to head upstairs until Piper realized Alex was still sitting down. She told Nicky and Lorna to go ahead and she would follow shortly.

"You coming?"

"Yeah. I'm just a little hesitant because well, last time thing's didn't end well… Although punching Larry wasn't the worst thing. Still wish I could remember that." Alex laughed at the thought of her punching him.

Piper walked over to her, and took her hands in her own. "Come on, I'll stick with you this time. It'll be fun."

Alex sighed. "Fine" she followed Piper up the stairs. Just before they opened the door to the main floor Alex stopped her. "Happy birthday Pipes."

* * *

The party was fun enough, and thankfully for Alex, it ended fairly early. Although there were some awkward moments between Piper and Larry that Alex did manage to see. It pissed her off quite a bit, but this time she didn't bring it up.

It was Monday, which meant Alex had to learn how to use the auditorium lights.

Alex made her way to the auditorium where she ran into Gerard, who was also on his way there.

"Hey Alex" He said as he opened the door to the balcony of the auditorium, where the little bubble was.

"Hey."

"Alright so, basically you enter through this door here" He pointed towards the door on leading to the bubble. "And uh, yeah. That's pretty simple."

"Right, it's almost as hard as rocket science." Alex laughed.

"Exactly. So here you have all the controls you need." He pointed towards a big bored that looked like a sound mixer, except some of it was for lights. "Basically you turn on and off lights at the right times. Other then that, we all pretty much just chill in here and get high."

"Sounds like fun." Alex looked around. "So uh, what about the microphones?"

"Right, well that's actually interesting. We can control specific mic's, like the one up on the podium for speeches, or we can turn on the auditorium mic's. The room is mic'ed. Sort of fucked up, but really fun to listen to peoples conversations. You can control who hears what. If the mic's are even on and there is nothing going on, they should be only heard up in here, which at the moment they are. We can also press this button here-" He pressed a small green button. "And it we speak into this thing here, they can hear us from up here. Pretty cool huh?"

"That's actually really cool. Creepy as fuck, but cool."

Just then two people appeared in the auditorium. "What the hell? This place is normally locked…"

"Holy shit." Alex said as she realized she knew the two people who walked in. "Piper?"

"Is that your girlfriend?" He asked.

"Yeah, it is."

"Hey, they look… I can turn on the auditorium mic's and we can hear what the two of them are talking about."

"No, we should respect their privacy."

"Too late." He said as he pressed the on button. "You smoke pot?" He asked as he took out a joint.

Alex did't answer. She was busy listening to the conversation between Piper, and Larry.

—

_"_ _Look Larry, sure I like you, but I'm not going to just dump Alex out of nowhere."_

_"_ _I understand that, but remember when we were at Kathryn's cottage? We had fun, and you were the on who kissed me anyway."_

_"_ _I can't hurt Alex. I still like her. I may have a tiny little crush on you, but that's not going to make me throw away something that means something to me."_

_"_ _I know, I know. But please, just consider going out on a date with me. Whenever it is, I want to go out with you."_

_"_ _Fine."_

_"_ _Alright, let's get out of here. This place sort of creeps me out."_

_"_ _Don't tell Pete about this. He'll just tell Polly and then she'll never let this go."_

_"_ _I won't, don't worry."_  Larry laughed.

—

"What, the fuck." Alex yelled as she slammed both her hands on the desk.

"Whoa hey watch it! Don't ruin the stuff." Gerard sat up.

"I can't fucking believe this." Alex said loudly, not realizing her hand was on the speaker button.

" _Alex?"_ Piper looked up into the bubble. " _Holy crap, Alex."_

Piper ran out of the auditorium and up the stairs to get into balcony. She ran as fast as she could to make sure she could find Alex. When she got to the tech bubble, the door was open, and Alex was still in there.

"Alex listen-"

"What the hell Piper?"

"How much did you hear?"

"I heard enough."

"Look I'm sorry, but nothing happened between us-"

"Except for you know, you kissed him." Alex rolled her eyes. "Jesus, what the fuck are you even doing here? Why don't you just fuck off and go to Larry."

"Because I don't want to be with him. If you we listening then you would also know that you mean something to me.  _We_  mean something to me." Piper knew exactly where this was heading, and the thought of breaking up right there put a horrible feeling in her stomach. Her eyes started to water.

"You know, I actually thought we had something here. I was stupid enough to fall for someone who didn't know what the fuck she wanted. So how about you figure out whatever the fuck it is you need to figure out, and then leave me the fuck alone." Alex yelled.

"We never did anything more then what you heard. Please believe me… Besides when i kissed him for all I knew we were broken up."

"Fuck, everything was going so well before Larry fucked this up. Before  _you_  and Larry fucked this up. It was like everything was fine and then two seconds later it wasn't. So maybe…" Alex hesitated.

"Are you-"

"Yeah, I'm breaking up with you." Alex snapped.

It was silent for a while, neither one of them knowing what to say or do next.

"I'm sorry Alex." was the last thing Alex heard before Piper walked away.

* * *

The rest of the day sucked for both of them. They avoided each other during third period, even though they both wanted to go up to each other.

After school Piper raced to her locker and then went to find Polly, who of course was with Pete.

"Hey Pol, can we talk?" Piper asked, trying to not make it obvious that she was extremely upset. Polly knew the second she saw Piper that something was wrong.

"Yeah yeah sure." Polly and Piper moved away dorm where Pete was standing. "What's up?"

"Alex and I- we uh... Broke... We broke up..." Pipers voice cracked. How she made it through the rest of the day without drying was beyond her.

"Oh crap. Piper I'm so sorry." Polly wrapped her arms around her friend. "One second." Polly went over to Pete, said a few words and then came back. "Pete's going to take us to my place, okay?"

"Yeah okay," Piper relied as the three of them made their way outside. Of course on their way to Pete's car they saw Alex. Piper was so close to calling out her name, but she stopped herself.

Piper went over to Polly's house, and they spoke about what had happened. Polly called her an idiot a few times, but mostly tried to comfort her. She knew how much Piper liked Alex, in fact if you were to ask Polly she would probably say they loved each other.

It was a long night, and it wasn't that happiest for a while. Piper let out a few tears, but at some point she was just sort of angry at herself. Polly managed to cheer her up after a while. Polly was never a fan of Alex. She had her moments, but she knew this was going to happen. She was finally getting ready to be able to say what she really felt about Alex with Piper.

* * *

Alex spent some time with Nicky talking about what had happened, but mostly she spent her time alone in her room.

Nicky was being a big help by shit-talking Larry, and just being a good friend. She reassured Alex that breaking up was the right thing to do. "What good is a relationship if you are so fucking paranoid about your partner going off with someone else."

The time Alex spent alone wasn't good or bad. She just blasted music really loudly, and lay on her bed.

Her mother came home at so point. The music was so loud Diane actually bade to walk into Alex's room and turn it off just so Alex would be aware that she was home.

"Are you fucking crazy? I'm surprised the neighbours haven't complained yet." Diane said as she sat down on Alex's bed.

Alex sat up "sorry."

"Bad day at school kid?"

"Something like that." Alex said. She thought for a second, before telling her mother what had happened that day. Alex told her mother everything, and this time, she was really happy she was there's to talk to.

Diane comforted her daughter, and told her that shit like that happens, but it's not the end of the world. At some point she called Piper a dumbass for doing that to her, but in Diane's mind, she knew that this really wasn't the end of Alex and Piper.

* * *

The rest of school was awkward. Since there really wasn't much left to do, Alex started skipping class all the time. She would show up occasionally, but if she did she never stayed long. She was hanging out with the tech kids more and more now, mostly spending her time getting high in the auditorium.

Nicky was actually surprised when Alex showed up at her house one night completely baked. Although Nicky was actually excited to sesh with her best friend, she was also aware of why Alex started.

By the last day of school Alex had actually only hung out with the tech kids. Her only reason was because she could get high with them. That and they also made her second in charge.

Alex had gotten that job on the movie set, and she started off higher then most people do on their second time on set. This time Alex got more out of it. A bigger paycheck, and more time do sit around and get high. Although, she didn't actually smoke pot as much on set as people would have thought she would. She had too much enjoyment being in control, but she did start smoking cigarettes.

Thankfully her grades were high enough that it didn't really matter how well she did on her exams. Most of which she just barley passed.

Piper on the other hand, aced all her exams. She started hanging out with Polly and all of her wand Pete's friend, including Larry. They all seemed to get along really well. Piper had actually found a group of friends that she really got along with. They were like her in a lot of ways, and they actually spent time getting to know her. She was actually happy.

* * *

Close to the end of the summer, Nicky and Alex were hanging out outside on the roof of Alex's apartment building. Alex had a cigarette in hand.

"So I was talking to Lorna the other day, and she told me something she heard from Kathryn." Nicky said as she opened up another beer.

"Yeah what's that? Sarah start dating someone else I hate?"

"Well, actually... It's about Piper..." Nicky was hesitant to even tell Alex, but she knew it would be better coming from her, then anyone else at school.

For a second Alex had completely forgotten about Piper, and her if first instinct was to say  _who?_  But then she remembered.

"Apparently she started dating some guy..."

"Good for her." Alex was trying to make it seem like she really didn't care, which for the most part she didn't.

"Apparently that guy is Larry."

Alex sat there as if Nicky had said nothing. She expected this. She really did, but this soon? There were so many questions she had, but the only one she could get herself to ask is:

"Is she happy?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok SO... I can tell you right now that I will not be showing much between Piper and Larry... In fact chapters 22-24 are very heavy with Piper and Alex. 
> 
> I've really enjoyed hearing your thoughts! It bums me out that I can't reply to some of you (because FF.net doesn't allow me to reply to 'guests' But if you are feeling up to it, shoot me a message on Tumblr!
> 
> (Next update: Tuesday or Wednesday)


	21. A new grade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Alright so a few things here; First off, school has started, which means updates may be a little slower, but I will still be continuing the story. I'll most likely start posting once a week.  
> Second; There is a huge time gap between now and the previous chapter, and after reading all your reviews, i'm sure these next few chapters will be something you will like. (Hopefully) (Yes that means less Larry.)
> 
> Ok anyways... Here is chapter 21!

* * *

 

Grade 11 was a very long, and very weird year for both Alex and Piper. The two of managed to avoid each other as much as possible to the point where they seemed like strangers in the hall. 

 

Polly, Pete, Piper, and Larry were a group of best friends. They were always spending time together, along with a few other friends. Piper was doing really well in school. She only had one class with Alex this year, but it wasn’t like it mattered because she hardly ever showed up to class. 

 

Somehow Alex managed to keep up her grade. No one knew exactly how she did, but she did. There were times when Piper and Alex would actually look at each other, but never when the other was looking. 

 

Alex was hanging out with completely different people. She spent most of her summer being a complete stoner with Nicky and occasionally Lorna. And also working on set. She found it quite enjoyable giving people orders on what to do, and making sure shit is done right. 

 

During the school year Alex hung out with the tech kids, and some drama kids. They really did spend most of their time getting high in the light bubble in the auditorium. She hooked up with a few girls, but there was never anything serious.

 

An entire year passed, and neither of them said more then one word to each other. 

Piper and Larry dated through out the summer after grade 11 and into the school year. It was what Piper thought was a strong relationship. She lost her virginity just before the start of school. There were time’s when she was with Alex that she thought it would be with her, but in the end it wasn’t, and Piper didn’t think twice about it. 

 

* * *

 

Alex was dreading the start of grade 12. She just barely passed grade 11. In fact, for the first time ever her mother actually had to yell at her to step up her game. Nothing got passed Diane Vause, and she told Alex “I don’t care how much pot you fucking smoke, and it’s your decision to do whatever fucking drugs you do, but you better get your act together. No more fucking around.” Alex wasn’t one to ignore her mother, and in fact, she listened. 

 

With one week left of the summer, Alex decided to actually change some things in her life. She was working at a small record store over the summer, and she decided that she could work part-time during the school year. They loved her at the store. She knew her music, and she knew how to talk to people, so they had no problem keeping her on part-time. 

 

And with having that job and actually enjoying it, she minimized her cigarette and pot smoking. She stopped using hard drugs, which wasn’t hard to do as she never got into them much. 

 

 

“I always thought I would be a lousy junkie.” Alex joked as she sipped a beer on Nicky’s back deck. 

 

“You know, I was really wondering when you would finally admit that.” Nicky laughed. “But still, I can’t believe after about a year you are just giving up just like that.” 

 

“Like it really seemed like I was into it.” 

 

“No you really, really weren’t.” 

  
There was a peaceful silence between the two as they say and enjoyed the warm weather. 

 

“You ready for school?” Nicky asked. 

 

“I’m really not. I seriously fucked up last year… I need to get my marks up and just hopefully be good enough for _some_ kind of scholarship.” Alex sighed. “Who the hell decided to charge a shit load of money in order to get something as necessary as a collage degree.” 

 

“Dude, don’t get me fucking started.” 

 

“Right.” 

 

“So what are the tech kids going to do now that they don’t have their… you?”

 

“Oh fuck, i forgot about them. I’m probably just going to keep working with them. The teacher made me the head of tech so, I don’t see why I would give that up.”

 

“And of course you aren’t going to get tempted to do any of their drugs, because you are a lousy fucking junkie.” Nicky laughed as Alex just rolled her eyes. 

 

* * *

 

It was Wednesday. The last Wednesday of the summer, and Piper dreaded waking up early to go into school to get her schedule.

 

She flopped out of bed, got dressed, and headed out the door. The familiar feeling of school was not one she particularly liked. 

 

The closer she got to school, the more she dreaded it. When she finally got to the building, there were quite a few kids there. She had to wait in line to get her schedule. 

 

Polly appeared and startle Piper, who had completely zoned out while waiting. 

“Piper! I got my schedule!” She said excitedly as she held up her schedule. 

 

“Oh awesome!” Piper looked at her friends schedule and started to laugh. “I hear Mr. Wilson is a major hard-ass. I feel sorry for you Pol.” 

 

“Really? Crap.” 

 

The line started to move, and Piper was in the gym, where everything for school was being handed out. She lined up again, and within 5 minutes she received her schedule for grade 12. 

 

“Fuck.” She sighed when she saw that Mr. Wilson was her homeroom teacher. 

 

* * *

 

“Fuck it’s weird to be heading into school sober.” Alex sighed as she walked away from Nicky, who was heading to her own school. 

 

The first two days of school were always boring and the same. The teachers would always do ‘get-to-know-you’ things, even though you knew everyone already, the teacher wanted to get to know you. 

 

Alex pulled out her schedule to find out what room she was in. “Room 335. Biology.” she said to herself as she made her way up the stairs. It was always entertaining watching all the new students try and find their way through the fairly big building. They always looked so lost. In fact, one kid almost ran right into her. 

 

Getting to class a bit early on the first day was never a bad thing, because the seat you first sat down in would most likely be your seat for a good part of the year, if not the whole year. Of course, Alex managed to get to class extremely early this year. At least it was better then showing up during the last 10 minutes of class like last year. 

 

There were a few kids sitting in class, but there was still a good fifteen minutes before class. Alex put her head down on her desk, earbuds in. 

 

One of the coolest things about Alex’s job at the record store was that they were completely unorganized with certain things, which meant they had a shit load of old cassette tapes, and players. Alex happily took one of the working players, and all of the tapes. She loved listening to them, especially since having an expense iPod wasn't much of an option. 

 

Alex looked up after what she thought was twenty minutes, to see that class was three minutes from officially starting. The room was almost full, except for the few seats at the back. She was sitting in the second to last row, all the way at the left of the room. She put her head back down for only a second until a voice made her take out an earbud and look up. 

 

“A cassette player?” Polly stopped at Alex’s desk before going to sit at the one behind her. 

 

“Yeah.” Alex responded, wondering why she was even talking to her. They had barely spoken since the break up. 

 

Polly sat in the desk behind her. Larry walked in not long after, looked around the room only to see that the only desks left were either beside Alex or Polly. He rolled his eyes and walked passed Alex and sat down at the desk. 

 

Alex tried to ignore the two speaking by turning up her music. 

 

The bell rang. The teacher stood up and started to address the class when the faint sound of music was heard throughout the class. 

 

The teacher looked around and noticed Alex looking to the side of the class, earbuds in. He walked over to her desk, crossed his arms, and waited until she noticed he was standing right above her. 

 

She turned down her music and took out her earbuds. He just starred and then walked back to the front of the room. 

 

It was about ten past nine, and just as he was about to start speaking again, someone ran through the door. The teacher looked pissed. 

 

“Why are you so late to my class?” He asked loudly. 

 

Alex sighed and sat back in her chair because of all people it had to be Piper.

 

“Sorry, my brother set my alar-“

 

“Excuses, excuses, excuses. What is your name?”

 

“P-Piper Chapman.” 

 

“Okay Miss Chapman, have a seat next to the other disruptive student.” He pointed towards Alex. 

 

Piper found it extremely awkward having to sit down beside Alex with Larry right behind her, but she really didn’t think much of it at the moment. Instead of ignoring Alex like she wasn’t there she smiled and whispered “The other disruptive student?” 

 

Of course that got Larry extremely annoyed, but he didn’t say anything; Not then at least. 

 

“Alright, let me start again. My name is Mr. Wilson and I will be your biology teacher this year. I have a few rules for the class room. No eat, or drinking anything except water. If you are late to my class I will need to see a note as to why. I don’t like smart-asses, so if you are one, I really suggest you keep your mouth shut. 

 

I am a nice guy, but you want to be on my good side.” He eyes both Piper and Alex very clearly, which made the two feel even more uncomfortable then they already were. 

 

“Do not speak while I am speaking either. When others are speaking you will listen to them.” he continued, speaking rather loudly. “I would like to start this class with a little warm up game of Two Truths and A Lie.” He started walking around the room and separating people into groups of four. And of course Piper, Alex, Polly, and Larry were all grouped together. 

 

“Well how about that.” Polly said, trying to break the tension between Alex and Larry. “I really think we should start this game… He doesn’t seem to like you two.” 

 

“More like he doesn’t like Alex…” Larry mumbled. Alex shot him a look, but he didn’t seem to be paying any attention to her. 

 

“Fine, if none of you won’t start, then I will.” Polly started thinking about her two truths and a lie. 

 

After a few moments of awkwardly looking around at everyone, Polly spoke up, finally knowing what to say. “Alright so, I’m getting a pet dog, I have three plants in my room, and my summer was really slow.” 

 

“The first one.” Larry said.

 

“No it’s the last one.” Piper said, knowing that she was right. At least she hoped she was. 

 

“Alex? What do you think?” Polly asked.

 

“Uh… The second one.” Alex replied as if she didn’t even hear what Polly had said for her three options. 

 

“Actually yeah.” Polly was surprised at that. “Piper i’m hurt that you don’t know me. Anyway Alex, you guess it, so it’s your turn.”

 

“Fuck okay.” Alex sighed “I haven’t had my favourite sweater for the past two years. I’m currently single, and I work at a record store.” 

 

None of these were a lie. Alex thought that maybe she could get some kind of reaction out of Piper. But why she wanted any kind of reaction from her was something she didn’t quite know herself. 

 

“I think it’s the last one.” Polly replied. 

 

“Yeah I’ll go with the last one too. Like you could even keep a job.” Larry glared at Alex. 

 

“Piper, you have to guess.” Polly said trying to get her to speak. 

 

Piper knew she had never given back Alex’s sweater. After all this time, she still had it. She never wore it, or kept it out, but she knew she had it. Piper also knew it made sense for Alex to be working in a record store, so why would she lie about that? When she realized that the only option left was that she wasn’t single a horrible feeling rose in her gut.

 

“The second one.” Piper said in a small voice. Larry laughed at that.

 

“Well Alex, which one is it?” Polly asked, trying to get her attention. Alex was finding it entertaining watching Piper’s reaction when she had to admit that there was a chance that maybe she wasn’t single. 

 

“It was the second one.” Alex smirked as she sat back down in her seat, looking over at Piper.

 

“Alright if you haven’t gotten around to everyone then you can continue this on your own time.” Mr. Wilson yelled out. “Turn around and face me, and we will start a small lesson.” 

 

The class took a few minutes to settle down, and Mr. Wilson didn’t seem to mind. About 45 minutes with this class and he already disliked half of the kids. 

 

“Hi.” Piper smiled over at Alex, who just looked up at her, and then back down to her phone. 

 

* * *

Second period wasn’t much fun for Alex. The only people she really knew in the class were Polly and Pete, and it wasn’t like she wanted to sit and talk with them. 

  
The teacher spoke a bit, and gave everyone a few pages of review to work on.  Alex put in her ear buds, took out some paper and a pencil, and started to work. 

 

Everyone now and then she would look up at the clock, tap her pencil, sigh, and then go back to work. She did this quite often until finally, class was pretty much over. 

 

She packed up her stuff, and headed out the door the second the bell rang. 

 

_Nicky- Hurry up Vause. Getting tired of waiting._

 

_Alex- yeah i’m on my w_

 

“Fuck.” Alex sighed as she bumped into someone, causing her to send her unfinished text. 

 

“Sorry.” Piper said as she looked up to see Alex standing in front of her, looking somewhat annoyed. 

 

“It’s fine. I probably shouldn’t text and walk so…” 

 

Piper smiled. This was the most they have spoken in the past year. She started to wonder why they started interacting more and more. This could have happened a hundred times before and they wouldn’t have said a word. What changed?

 

“Hey, I’m really happy for you.” Piper said stopping Alex from walking away. 

 

A confused expression crossed Alex’s face. 

 

“You know, for being in a relationship and having a job and everything.”

Alex smirked. “Yeah uhm, i’m not really in a relationship. Your reaction was worth it though.” 

 

A smile crept onto Piper’s lips. This is something that would have normally made her angry, but hearing that she was single? It made her more happy then angry because that meant maybe, Alex still had feelings for her.

 

“But I am happy with my job.” Alex continued. “And I hope you are happy too.” 

 

“Actually-“ Piper was interrupted by Larry walking up to the to and scowled. “I have to go, but maybe i’ll see you around.” She smiled and started walking in the opposite direction Alex was heading. 

 

Alex watched her walk away, and gave a small wave when Piper turned around and waved. 

 

“You still like her, don’t you?” Gerard said walking up startling Alex out of her ‘moment’

 

“What?”

 

“Come on Vause, I watched your little interaction there. You still like her.” The two of them started walking outside of the building, and made their way down towards the coffee shop to meet Nicky. 

 

When they got there Nicky rolled her eyes at how late the two of them were. “Well look who finally stepped out of the bubble.”

 

“Teachers are in there today.” Gerard replied as the two of them sat down. “Anyway, Alex and I were just talking about how she still has the feels for Piper.” 

 

Nicky looked over at Alex who looked like she wanted to murder Gerard for even bringing it up in the first place. 

 

“Holy shit she does.” Nicky laughed. 

 

“How the hell can you tell by just looking at me?” Alex asked.

 

“Come on, i’ve known you for years. You always look like you want to kill the person who brings up something so very true about you.” 

 

Alex then glared at Nicky. 

 

“Oh see, there’s the look.” She laughed. 

 

“Okay you know, maybe I don’t hate her, but i’m so not looking to start anything up again.” Alex said before she stood up to order herself a coffee. 

 

* * *

 

Pipers day was fairly simple, although these weird interactions with Alex were throwing her off. She was confused as to why now they start talking again, and why it made her so happy. Except, she sort of knew why it made her happy. 

 

Alex was an interesting person. The dates they went on were so… Not like regular dates. Larry dates. Alex’s date’s were different and sort of out-of-the-box.  
  
Larry was boring, and Piper was really starting to realize that. 

 

She decided to take two spares in grade 12, instead of one in grade 11, and one in grade 12. Today she had a fourth period spare. 

 

As Piper made her way to her locker, she noticed a kid with short blonde hair with black-dyed bangs. It was Gerard. 

 

“Hey it’s Piper right?” He asked as he went up to her at her locker. 

 

“Yep.” 

 

“I know we don’t know each other like, at all, but I was wondering if you have a second to talk?”

 

“Don’t you have to be in class?”

 

“Don’t you?” He paused for a second. “Anyway I have a spare right now.” 

 

“Same. What do you want to talk about?” She asked as she closed the door to her locker and started walking outside.

 

Gerard was confused for a second, and then realized that he was supposed to walk _with_ her. He ran to catch up. “I want to talk about Alex.”

 

“Why? Is everything okay? Is she alright?”

 

“Yeah yeah, she’s fine. I was just wondering… Do you still have feelings for her?”

 

That stopped Piper from walking. How the hell was she supposed to answer that?

 

“I’m going to take that as a yes.” He replied. 

 

“Why are you asking me this?” Piper asked, snapping out of her thoughts. 

 

“Because I’m in your history class, and I noticed you didn’t look… Happy with Larry. Not like you did when you were talking to Alex.” 

 

Piper started to smile. Gerard wasn’t trying to inter fear in a bad way, because he was honestly trying to help. He noticed something not even Polly noticed. “I don’t know if I still like her…”

 

“Okay. Fair enough.” 

 

“How is she doing anyway?”

 

“Better, but don’t ask me. Ask her.” he gave Piper a genuine smile. “Anyway, i’m sure I’ll be seeing you around Piper.”

 

“Wait-“ She called out as he was walking away. “You really care about her, don’t you?”

 

“Of course I do." He smiled and turned and walked away.  

 

Piper was left standing on the sidewalk. It was an interaction that she had never thought would happen, but it did. Gerard really did care about Alex, which made her feel really happy. 

 

Thinking about Gerard then made her think about Nicky. The two of them hadn’t spoken much since the break up, although they did speak every now and then.

 

Piper made her way home, her mind never leaving Alex. 

 

* * *

 

 

The first thing she did when she stepped inside her was go up to her room and look through her closet. 

 

She pulled Alex’s blue and black plaid hoodie out, and put it on. She forgot how soft and comfortable it was. 

 

Piper sighed and sat down against the door frame. “I miss you.” 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?


	22. Friday night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Okay I totally haven't forgotten about this, but school is actually taking up a lot of my time. I will be updating this every Tuesday (I may occasionally post more then once a week, depending on how fast I write.)  
> Anyway, I really hope you guys enjoy this!

"I think she still likes her." Gerard said as he sat back and blew the smoke out of his mouth.

"Wait, are we talking about Piper or Alex?" Nicky asked before taking another hit of her bong.

"Uh… Both I guess."

"Alright, I can see how Vause may still like Piper. But isn't Piper happy leading a fully boring life with Larry?"

"You really miss out on a lot. The past two weeks they haven't been able to take their eyes off of each other."

"I need to visit your school more often. Sounds like a fucking blast."

"Look, these two are killing me, because they obviously belong together but Alex is too stubborn to even admit she has feelings, and Piper's too… Okay I really don't know anything about Piper."

"You should have seen Alex in grade ten. Getting her to admit her feelings was harder then… It was harder then fucking a straight girl."

"Well fuck. What are we going to do about them? It suck's seeing Alex look so… hurt all the time."

"Look, we aren't going to do anything about it. I know Alex, and she will figure things out on her own. Just give it time."

"Fine." He sighed.

* * *

On Friday nights Piper and Larry would always be together. At first they would go out, but more recently they just stayed in. This Friday was no different.

"So how did you feel about that history quiz?" Larry asked as he sat down on the couch and put his arm Piper.

"Hopefully I passed."

"I'm sure you aced it." There was a silence for a minute. "You'll never guess what happened in my design tech class today."

"Mhmm?"

"Yeah my teacher, Ms. K really doesn't like Alex, and so when Alex came in ten minutes late to class she got really pissed off at her and sent her to the principals office and you should have  _heard_ the things she said about Alex once she was out of the room." Larry started laughing while he remembered what exactly the teacher said until Piper sat up and moved away from him.

"That's not funny Larry."

"Are you sure? Because you didn't hear what-"

"No I'm serious. That isn't funny. God what the hell do you have against Alex?" Piper stood up off the couch.

"Do you not remember the time she fucking punched me?" He stood up. "She's not good news Piper, and you know that. Did you even take a look at her last year? Because the times that she did show up she was totally high, god knows what on."

"Please tell me we aren't going to have this fight  _again._ " Piper yelled. This was the third fight they had in the past two weeks. The first one was about Alex and how much time Piper spoke to her, which really wasn't a lot. The second fight was about how boring Piper found Larry, and now this one.

"Why do you still fucking care about her? Ever since school started it's like everything is about her."

Piper was silent for a second, because he was right. Things had become more about Alex. But still, they haven't even spoken much. "Larry… Are you happy with this relationship?"

"What? Of course i'm happy. Pipes I love you." Piper hated Larry calling her 'Pipes.' She liked it when Alex called her that. It was like her nickname for her. "Are- are you happy?"

"I'm not sure that I am…"

"oh."

Piper knew that if there was anytime to break up with Larry it would have to be right now. If she were 30 and they were dating maybe she would consider trying to work things out because he is a safe bet, she she isn't 30. She's 17, and the safe bet isn't something she should stick with just because she's scared.

"I think we need to break up."

* * *

Alex was working at the record store. She had the last shift of the day, but the store stated open until 2am.

There were a few people in the store, but they all seemed to know what they were doing. So Alex sat at the cash, not doing much.

"How much fun are you having Vause?" Nicky said as she walked up to her, and sat on top of the front desk.

"I tell you every time, you can't sit on there."

"Dude, there's no one in here."

Alex looked around. The store was empty. "Shit how long have I been spaced out for?"

"Not long. Anyway's I just came to say hi. I got bored of Gerard so I decided to come here."

"You still don't like him very much, do you?"

"He's fine, but I swear to god if he takes over my role as best friend, shit's gonna go down." Nicky laughed.

"Don't worry, you will never be replaced."

"Thanks. You think you can close up early?"

"I don't think I can it's only like, 11." Alex said she looked over at her clock. "Fuck, it's almost 1."

"You sure you quite drugs?"

"Sorry i guess i'm just really distracted thinking about-" Alex stopped herself from speaking because she was thinking about Piper.

"Piper."

"What?" Alex looked up at her friend.

"You were thinking about Piper." Nicky smirked.

Alex just nodded her head in agreement. Nicky hopped off the desk, took a chair and moved it in front of Alex. "You miss her."

"Fuck of course I miss her, but-" Alex lifted her glasses up off of her face.

"You hate the fact that you miss her because she fucked you over." Nicky continued.

"Yeah." Alex sighed. "God I spent all of last year either really drunk or really high off of something. I never gave myself time to actually just… Get over her."

"Because you don't want to be. If you wanted to get over her, you would be."

"I actually hate how well you know me."

"And I love how well I know you."

"What do I do Nicky?" Asking this was something Alex never thought she would do. It killed her to ask it, but she honestly didn't know what to do.

It was silent for a while, the question still hanging in the air.

"I don't know Alex, I really don't."

Silence.

"Are you in love with her?"

"I think you already know the answer to that Nicky."

Nicky leaned over and gave Alex a tight hug. "I think Piper would have the answer same to my question too." Nicky pulled away.

Alex looked at her friend with a very confused expression on her face. "Wait What do you mean?"

"You'll understand later. I need to get home, it's raining and I left some windows open or something." Nicky stood up, and walked out the door, leaving Alex sitting there alone with her thoughts.

"That was really fucking strange." Alex said to herself. "Also when the hell did it start raining?" She put her head down. It had been a long day for her, and she really just wanted to get home and go to sleep.

It was almost 2 when someone walked through the door. Alex was surprised, because almost no one came in this late, but of course they weren't no one.

"Piper?" Alex asked as she stat up straight.

"I hope you don't mind, I had no where else to go." She said as she walked over to the cash register.

"How did you know I worked here?"

"Nicky told me."

That is when Alex realized what Nicky meant. She had spoken to her. About them particularly, she didn't know. Did this make Alex happy? It sort of did actually. Was she also pissed? Yeah, but she was trying to do something good.

"Wait what do you I mean you had no where else to go?"

"Larry and I... We broke up."

It was silent for a moment. Alex didn't know what to do with this information because on one hand she was really thrilled the two were over, but on the other, she felt bad for Piper because she knew she did like him.

"Shit Pipes…"

"I know, you probably don't care." Piper said as she started to walk around the store.

Alex stood up and walked over to where Piper was looking through some CD's. "No that's not true. I never really liked they guy, but I am sorry."

Piper turned to Alex and smiled.

"Do you wanna talk about it? Because that's what Polly's for." Alex laughed, and then more seriously said it again. "Really though. I'm here if you want to talk…"

Piper sighed and sat down on the floor between shelves of CD's and vinyls. Alex rolled her eyes and sat down across from her.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I did, and how I didn't tell you about Larry. I was wrong and I fucked everything up and i'm sorry."

"Don't." Alex replied. "Don't be sorry. I mean you did fuck up, but I don't blame you for what you did."

"You aren't mad at my anymore? Shouldn't you hate me? I… I cheated on you…"

"I'm learning not to hold any grudges. Besides, I think we were broken up for a minute there anyway."

"I'm still sorry."

"You should chose  _Larry._  And that didn't seem to work out for you." Alex laughed at herself.

"At least you know you were always my first choice." Piper smiled.

"Why did you come here instead of to Polly?"

"Because she wouldn't understand why I broke up with him. I love her, but she can be a real bitch about things, and i just know she would be a bitch about this."

"Can't argue with that."

"Shut up." Piper kicked Alex's leg jokingly.

"So… Why did you break up with him?"

"I don't like him. I mean, I did like him but those feelings just went away. He's boring, and as sweet of a guy he can be, he's too… Clingy. And-"

"He's the safe choice. You know, the guy you end up with when you're 40 and alone."

"Exactly."

It was silent for a while as the two sat, concentrating on their own thoughts.

Alex started laughing as she thought of something.

"What's so funny?"

"You remember that guy Todd?"

"Oh my god. I almost forgot about him. Man that date was bad, I so couldn't wait for it to be over."

"I know, Nicky and I had to come rescue you." Alex laughed.

"That was such a fun night though. Like, really fun."

"I still can't believe I lost to Nicky. She keep's brining it up every now and then."

The two of them laughed.

"I miss this. I miss having it just be  _us_. Thing's got so complicated, and now there are other people in our lives. What ever happened to it just being us? And well… Nicky as well."

"It could go back to that… I mean, if you want." Alex arched an eyebrow. And wow, Piper missed seeing her do that.

"How? You now have Gerard and several other tech kids… I have Polly and- well, yeah I have Polly."

"And Nicky has Lorna." Alex continued. "But Gerard leaves at Christmas, and Nicky and Polly don't hate each other… I think."

"Wait, he's leaving?"

"Yeah. That kid is really fucking smart. He took four classes over the summer as well as some online courses. He just needs to finish up the semester. He got accepted to uh… everywhere."

"Wow, I never would have guessed that…"

"Do you know where you want to go after high school? What you want to do?"

Piper nodded her head. "My top choice is Smith. I'm sort of worried I wont be able to get in but-"

"You will." Alex reassured her.

"You think so?"

"I know you will."

Piper took out her phone to look at the time.  _2:55am_. "Fuck." she said as she stood up. "It's really fucking late."

"Right." Alex stood up walked her to the door.

"Thank you Alex."

"For what?"

"For being here." She smiled. Piper headed outside into the lightly pouring rain.

"Piper, wait." Alex called out as she walked outside after the girl. She looked straight into Piper's eyes as she lifted her glasses onto of her head. "I love you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know how much you guys didn't like Larry... So I hope you are happy with that!  
> What do you think will happen next?


	23. Rebuilding trust is hard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so this chapter picks up right where I left off... So i won't talk much more... Enjoy!

_“Piper, wait.” Alex called out as she walked outside after the girl. She looked straight into Piper’s eyes as she lifted her glasses onto of her head. . “I love you._

I mean that. If you know me, and I know you do, then you know that this is something I would not just say because I can.”

 

Piper stepped forward put her hands on Alex’s cheeks pulling her in and kissing her. The two were so desperate for something they had completely forgotten about. The passion and firework filled kissed made both of them just want more of each other. 

 

Alex pulled away as she remembered what had happened only moments before. She felt horribly venerable and scared. _She didn’t say it back._ Alex looked into Piper’s eyes. “You have to say it back.” She pushed a pice of hair out of Piper’s face.

 

The way Alex said that was so innocent sounding to Piper. It made her realize just how scared Alex was that there may a chance that maybe she didn’t love her back, but that was wrong. Piper really loved her. 

 

“I love you too.” 

 

* * *

 

Alex locked up the store around _3:15am._  

 

The two of them left the store together and started walking. It was cool night.

 

“Do you know what this night reminds me of?” Piper asked looking over to Alex, who seemed to be leading her over to a nearby park bench. 

 

“What?”

 

“Our first date.” Piper smiled as the two sat down. 

 

A smile crossed Alex’s face as she remembered that night. That was one of the best nights of her life. “Or as I remember it, the night _after_ I got punched in the face.”

 

“Are either of you ever going to let that go?” Piper chuckled. 

 

“Hey, I had a cut under my eye for ages.” 

 

“I remember… It made you look even hotter then you normally do.” Piper smirked. 

 

“Yeah well it made it awful to wear my glasses.”

 

“Half the time your glasses aren’t even on your face!”

 

“Fine, but I don’t think I will ever let it go.” Alex teased. 

 

Piper took Alex’s hand in her own. “Is it weird how normal this feels?”

 

“Well I think… when you have a connection with someone, it never really goes away, you know?”

 

“It’s like you snap back to being important to each other because you still are.” Piper added. 

 

Alex nodded her head and smiled. It was silent for a while on.  
  
“Alex?” Piper asked softly. 

 

“Mhmm?”

 

“Does this mean-“  
  
“That we’re back together?” Alex continued Pipers sentence. 

 

“Yeah…”

 

“I don’t know… Because as much as I want to say yes, i’m not sure I can… Not after what happened between us…”

 

“I thought you weren’t angry about that.”   
  
“No, i’m not angry at you. But theres still the fact that you broke my fucking heart. Yeah I broke up with you, but you can’t honestly tell me you weren’t thinking about doing it first.” Alex took out a pack of cigarettes from her jacket pocket. She took one, got her lighter, and lit it up. 

 

“Since when did you start smoke-“ Piper stopped. She knew exactly when. 

 

“Pipes” Piper so missed hearing Alex call her that. “I don’t think we should get back together.” 

 

“Okay…” Piper paused for second. “But do you think we could go back to being friends?”

 

Alex took a long drag of her cigarette. “Nicky and I were uh, going to hangout on Wednesday after school. You could come if you want?”

 

“I would like that.”

 

* * *

 

It was Sunday evening and Nicky and Alex were hanging out on the roof of Alex’s apartment.   
  
“So how’d it go with Piper?”

 

“It was… Weirdly familiar. But, we aren’t getting back together or anything.” 

 

“What? Really? I thought you would have jumped at the chance.” 

 

“I can’t. It doesn’t make sense right now. She just broke up with Larry anyway.”

 

“Man I still can not believe she didn’t break up with him ages ago. She was honestly not happy with him.” Nicky started thinking back to the few conversations she had with Piper over the past year.

 

“Wait, how do you know that?”

 

“We spoke a bit. I asked her how she was doing and at some point she stopped being happy with Larry. Can’t believe it took this long for her to end it, but I’m also not surprised.” 

 

“Okay now you aren’t making much sense.” 

 

“If you think about it, the second you walked back into her life was the second she broke up with Larry. She’s quick to jump to things, but their break up was something that was going to happen the second they got together.” 

 

“The fact that she actually started dating him is something that i’m not sure I will get over… You know? She screwed up our relationship for him. That’s something i’m not sure I can forgive.” 

 

“If it makes you feel any better, we can go find Larry and punch him again.” Nicky laughed. 

 

“Piper was right, no one will ever let that go. Anyway, I still don’t know if I can even trust her.” 

 

“Piper’s a great girl, and I know how much she hurt you, but you two care for each other so much, don’t let Larry stand in the way of that. And you know, if we were anywhere else for New Years you and I both know you would have gone out and fucked some girl.” 

 

Alex knew Nicky was right. She was always right. Alex knew she probably would have ended up with some random girl. What happened with Piper and Larry was really nothing. Even she said it herself; For all Piper knew they were broken up. 

Why would she let someone like _Larry_ stand in their way?

 

 

* * *

 

 

“You know, I was skeptical about you and Larry from the start, but you made the decision, and in the end I was right. It was a stupid decision.” 

 

“Thanks for the cheer up Pol.” 

 

“Well, it seems like Alex did a good job of that. Still can’t believe you ended up with Larry over Alex.”

 

“You weren’t complaining when the four of us were hanging out.” Piper hit Polly gently on the arm. 

 

“Because I couldn’t just tell you I didn’t like your boyfriend. Sure i’m not a huge fan of Alex, but she’s so much better then Larry. He’s a nice guy, but you two just suck together.” 

 

“And now i’m confused as to where Alex and I are at.” 

 

“I told you, Alex may not forgive you.” 

 

“Fuck. I am so fucking stupid.” 

 

“You really are my friend.” Polly sighed. Piper then hit her on the arm, harder then before. “I’m still not over this Piper. You date the guy for what, 9 months and then your break up as if he meant nothing to you? I still don’t understand your way of thinking.” 

 

“If I could tell you why I decided to date him, I would. But I honestly have no idea.”

* * *

Mr. Wilson was away, which made everyone in the class extremely happy. He was a nice enough guy, but he was really scary. One thing people actually liked about him was that he didn’t care about if you sat in the same spot. He was just so intimidating that it took having a substitute to be in for people to actually switch seats. 

 

Piper, Alex, and Polly all sat in the same seats. Larry moved. He was really done with Piper by this moment.

 

“Well, i’m going to go. This class is really not worth being here.” Polly said as she got up and walked over to the supply teacher. 

 

“I know this isn’t really the best place to talk… and we have been doing a lot of talking recently, but I need to talk to you.” Piper said as she looked over at Alex. 

 

“Sure.” Alex took out her earbuds. 

 

“You are one of the best things in my life, and i’m sorry it took me being an idiot to realize that.” 

 

“That has to be like, the fifth time you have apologized in the past few days.”

  
“I know, and it’s getting tiring. But I want to own up to what I did.”

 

“You want to get out of here?”   
  
Piper just nodded her head. 

 

* * *

 

Ditching class really wasn’t that hard. With most substitutes you could pretty much just walk out of the class and they wouldn’t even think twice about it.   
  
Piper and Alex started walking down the street, and it wasn’t until they got there that they realized how important this place was.   
  
“Remember this place?” Alex asked, even though she knew the answer. 

 

“This park is sort of hard to forget.” Piper smiled. “hey, follow me.” She started walking towards the play set.

  
“Wow did I grow or something? Because this seems smaller then the last time we were here.” Alex said as she followed Piper inside the small tunnel. 

 

“I don’t know, it’s not that much smaller.” 

 

“Are you sure?” 

 

“No, it’s really fucking tiny.” Piper laughed. 

 

“Piper!” A young voice called out. 

 

A little girl crawled into the tunnel and sat beside Alex. 

“Grace! Hi!” Piper responded. 

 

Alex looked over to Piper with a curious expression.

 

“Grace this is Alex. Alex this is Grace.” Piper introduced the two.

 

“Hi!” Grace waved excitedly.

 

“Is your mother here?” 

 

“Yeah! She’s over with Tyler.” Grace said still looking at Alex. “Is this the girl you were talking about?”

 

Piper’s face dropped from a smile to a very shocked face. She looked over at Alex who had arched an eyebrow, looking over at her. 

 

“Yeah Piper, am I?” 

 

“You’re really pretty.” Grace said to Alex.

 

“And so are you.” Alex replied, smiling.

 

“It has to be her! You said she was nice.” Grace continued.

 

“Grace!” A woman yelled from outside.   
  
“I have to go, but i’ll see you soon Piper!” She waved good-bye and ran out of the tunnel. 

 

“Who was that?” Alex asked. 

 

“It’s a little girl I baby sit every now and then.” Piper replied. “She’s really nice, and her brother is really cool. Wild, but cool.”

 

“And you talk to them about me.” Alex smirked. 

 

“It was only once… besides, they just asked me a question, and I had to answer.”

 

“What’d they ask you?”

 

“If there was a boy I like… I wanted to answer it to make sure they know that it’s okay for people to like people of the same gender…” 

 

Alex smiled at Piper. “you’re a good person Pipes.” 

 

The two of them got out of the tight, crammed tunnel. They got off the play set and walked over to the same tree they sat at last time. 

 

What Nicky said to Alex was stuck in her head. She wasn’t going to let what happened get in the way of what could be. There wasn’t much time before Piper would end up leaving for university. 

 

“Getting back together takes time…” Alex started. “You can’t just have coffee and expect-“

 

“I know.” 

 

“There’s so much we have to work through. We need to rebuild trust. You have to see if we still fit in each others lives… We need to learn if we are even the same people we were.”

 

“Alex what are you getting at?”

 

“It’s a long and an important process and can we just skip it? Can you just be kissing me right now?”

 

As Piper watched Alex’s lips moved, she almost missed the last thing she said. She felt so drawn to her, and the next thing she knew, her lips were on Alex’s.  

 

* * *

 

 

The two of them made went back to Pipers house. No one was home, which was good for them. 

 

They could barely keep their hands off of each other. As they entered Pipers room Alex put her hands under Pipers shirt. 

 

Pipers took off her shirt, revealing a black laced bra. Alex bit her lower lip, and then started to kiss Pipers neck, and then down to her chest. Piper pushed Alex back a bit. She then put her hands on the hem of Alex’s black v-neck shirt, and pulled it off of her. 

 

This time there was no hesitation. They both knew what they wanted, and with one look they knew the other felt the same way. Although Piper was nervous, she felt comfortable and safe with Alex. She was ready. 

 

Alex unclasped the blondes bra. She took in the sight of Pipers bare chest. She cupped one of her breasts and began kissing Piper on the lips. 

 

Pipers nipples were hard and just waiting to be sucked, which Alex did. Piper let out a moan. Alex’s hands moved down to Pipers jeans. She un-did her pants, and slid them off.

 

Alex started kissing Pipers neck, and she slid her hand down into Pipers underwear. “You are so fucking wet.” Alex smirked against the blondes lips. “Piper are you sure you want to-“

 

“Alex, just shut up and fuck me.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I was considering expanding the ending but I'm really not good at that kind of thing... Hope you liked this chapter! I'd love to hear your comments!


	25. Game Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hm... I swear every week just feels longer and longer... But chapter 25 is here!   
> I've been missing Lorna and Nicky... So there's more of them in this chapter!   
> Hope you all enjoy!

Nicky was quite excited that the normal wednesday hangout was turning into a game night. She was really competitive, and looking forward to some competition. But, since her competition was only going to be Piper and Alex, she decided to invite Lorna and Polly. Nicky knew Gerard was fairly competitive, and she was kind of bummed that he couldn't come.

She had decided not to go to school, and instead hangout with Lorna. Because Lorna went to a private school, she had different days off then other people.

It was what would have been last period for the two, but instead they decided to go out and find a game for tonight. They had gone to this small toy store where Nicky use to go all the time when she was younger.

"Alright, now what game am I amazing at…" Nicky mumbled to herself as the two of them looked through different games.

"I always was a fan of monopoly." Lorna suggested.

"It's a great game, but we need to switch it up a bit. Last time we played I totally kicked everyone's asses." Alex, Nicky, and Lorna had all played monopoly together a few times throughout the summer.

"Right, I forgot. That wasn't much fun." She laughed.

"You know, all these games really fuck." Nicky sighed.

"What time does everyone come over?"

"Uh, right after school. Why?"

"Because I think I found a game." Lorna said while holding up a box.

"Really? Risk?" Nicky laughed. "You are a fucking genius."

"Great!" The two of them were on their way to the charier when Lorna wandered off over to the small video section.

Nicky turned around in a circle looking for her. When she finally spotted her, she was walking over to her holding up a dvd. "Look Toy Story!" She said excitedly. "This use to be my favourite movie."

"Are you buying it?"

"Yeah! My cousin will love it." The two continued over to the cash to pay.

"Wait, you mean Kathryn?"

"No no, different cousin."

"Right." Nicky started to get lost in her own thoughts. She started thinking about her family, and her cousins, except she didn't know any of them. She knew nothing about her parents. And ever since they got divorced there was almost no chance that she would ever know anyone in her family.

She was so lost in her thoughts that it took her a second to realize that they were standing at her car, Lorna trying to get her attention. "Earth to Nicky!"

"What? Oh right." She opened the car doors and they got in. "So uh, how is everything?"

Lorna was quiet for a minute, thinking about how to answer. "It's been hard…" She paused. "I really thought Christopher and I had something…"

"Well, he cheated on you… And like you said, he's an ass. You are so much better off with out him."

"It's weird, because I have days where I feel like I am so much better off with out him, and then there are the times where I feel like I can't move on from him. Those are the days where everything just hurts."

It was silent for a while as they drove to Nicky's house. It normally wouldn't have taken that long to get back, but it seemed like the lights weren't on their side today.

They walked inside to the big empty house in silence. They made their way to the kitchen like they aways did.

Lorna opened a bag of chips and handed them to Nicky.

"I'm sorry." Nicky said softly. "I wish I could take all that pain for myself so you don't have to deal with it, but I can't."

Lorna slid down onto the floor beside Nicky, who then sat down beside her. "But I can help you though it. I can be there for you. Because I don't want to see you upset over this."

A smile crossed Lorna's face. "Is you helping me get over him mean you are going to be shit-talking him 24/7?"

"Mostly." Nicky smirked.

"Then thank you."

"So you okay?"

"Yeah." Lorna replied softly as she gave Nicky a big hug. "You are a great friend Nichols."

Nicky just smiled and hugged back. One of the things about friends is that sometimes they pick up the others habits, and Lorna starting to refer to people by their last names made her extremely happy.

"I wish things could just stay like this forever. Just you and me." Lorna said as she looked over to Nicky.

"Well, why can't it?" Nicky was unlike Alex this way. She was actually willing to admit things and go for it. Even with a small comment like this.

Lorna smiled, and before she knew it, Nicky's lips were on hers. Lorna put her hands on Nicky's cheeks as if she needed to be closer to the girl.

When the two pulled apart Nicky had the biggest, goofiest, smile that Lorna had never seen before. "I've been wanting to do that for ages..." Nicky admitted.

"Me too."

"Really?" Nicky asked, smiling even more.

The door bell rang, and a few seconds later a there was a knock on the door. "Yeah," Lorna teased as she stood up and made her way over to the front door.

Nicky stayed seated on the floor of her kitchen, thinking about what had happened. She heard voices but she didn't bother to get up and greet people. She was too busy thinking about Lorna. She was too busy reviving their kiss that had only happened a few seconds ago.

Alex walked into the kitchen, and saw Nicky sitting on the floor, huge smile on her face, not noticing that she had entered the room. "What's on your mind Nicky?"

Before Nicky could speak, or even realize Alex's presence, Polly, Piper, and Lorna entered the room. The room got quite a bit louder even though only three people had entered. She stood up casually, looking over at Lorna who was smiling at her. She smiled back.

"I saw you to go to and exciting me to whip your ass at." Alex laughed as she opened up the fridge and pulled out a case of beer.

"Uh yeah, it was Lorna's pick." Nicky replied.

"This game is going to take forever." Piper said as she looked at the box.

"Yeah, so the sooner we start, the better." Lorna took the box and headed towards the basement. She never really understood why they always went down there with a big house with many rooms that would be better to okay a game it. But they always went down there.

Polly and Lorna had made their way downstairs. "What are you smiling about?" Piper laughed as she reached for the bag of open chips on the counter.

"Yeah, I haven't seen you smile this much since- holy shit, did something happen between you and Lorna?" Nicky only had to smirk for the two to know the answer.

Both Alex and Piper looked at each other before looking back at Nicky who was rolling her eyes. "This is so exciting!" Piper said as she started to make her way towards the basement stairs.

"You bored of this already?" Nicky joked.

"Not at all. I'm going to get details from Lorna!"

"Maybe now we can finally stop talking about Piper and I, and talk about you and Lorna." Alex commented. "But really, what happened?"

Nicky rolled her eyes again. "It was nothing Vause. I kissed her, she kissed back, we had a moment."

"Right, well sorry to take you out of your moment, but your girlfriends downstairs waiting for you," Alex patted her friend on the back and headed down the stairs.

Nicky picked up the second bag of chips and made her way down where everyone else was. As she appeared everyone was sitting down on the floor, sorting out the pieces.

"I totally call blue." Piper stated as she started picking out all of the many red pieces.

"Red! I so call red!" Polly shouted enthusiastically.

Nicky sat down beside Lorna who was deciding on what colour piece she wanted. Just as she made a decision Nicky reached over and picked out all of the black pieces. "Hey! I was totally going to take those!" Lorna said as she lightly hit Nicky's arm.

"Oh uh… Sorry." Nicky laughed.

"I'll be white then…" She sighed.

"There's only yellow or green left." Piper stated as Alex took out the board.

"Uh, just hand me some." Alex replied. A few seconds later Nicky was dumping both the green and yellow playing pieces on to her lap. Alex looked up at her friend who was killing herself laughing. "Thank you, Nicky." Alex said sarcastically.

"What? Don't like the colours?"

"Ha ha." Alex started separating the two colours while Lorna started to hand out the cards that determined what country's you 'owned.' Piper started to help Alex. "Thanks." She smiled and looked up at the blonde, who was very focused on separating the two colours.

"Alright, everyone should make sure they have eight cards." Lorna started, "And then when you know your countries, you can spread out 25 players across the bored. Uh, the little soldier guy represents one, the horse represent 5, and the canon is 10."

"Right." Alex said as she finally got all of her green pieces together. Everyone else was already starting to put their players on the bored.

* * *

It had been an hour and a half since they started playing, and Polly was almost out of the game. She only had Australia keeping her in, and that was surrounded by Piper.

"Fuck Piper, please don't attack me." Polly said as Piper was deciding if she should attack Nicky, or go for all of Australia.

"Sorry Pol." Piper said as she handed dice of to her friend.

Polly sighed and rolled her die. "Shit." She sighed as she got low numbers.

Piper grinned and rolled her dice. "Yes!" She said excitedly as all three die were higher then what Polly had rolled.

"Dammit." Polly sighed as she took off her one solider defending her second last country.

"Again, sorry Pol, but I have to attack one more time…" Piper said as she rolled her dice.

Polly closed her eyes and rolled. "Fuck." She said again as she rolled lower numbers. "Alright, i'm out. I'm going to head home."

"What? Fine." Nicky sighed as she waved. "I'll see you around."

"Yeah, see you guys." Polly said as she made her way up to the front door, Piper following to say goodbye.

"You two seemed to be doing well." Polly said as she put on her shoes.

"Yeah, we are. We really are." Piper smiled.

"I'm happy for you." Polly hugged her friend. "And as much as I still don't like her, she's growing on me."

"I'm sorry I totally kicked your ass." Piper laughed.

"Please, you totally enjoyed it. Anyway, i'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye." Piper said as she watched Polly walk out of the house. She then made her way back downstairs.

"Hey Pipes, i'm actually going to head home now too. I have a shit load of homework to finish." Alex said as she stood up off of the floor. "I'll see you tomorrow Nicky. See ya Lorna." As she walked passes Piper, she grabbed her by the hand and lead her upstairs.

"Wait, am I supposed to be leaving with you?" Piper asked.

"No, I just figured those two would want a minute alone." Alex replied as they stopped in front of the front door. "Besides, I wanted to get you alone." Alex said as she leaned in, kissing the blonde.

Piper moaned into the kiss, running her hands through Alex's long black hair. Their hands were moving around each others bodies as if they were exploring them for the very first time.

The thing Piper loved about being with Alex was that every time they were with each other was like the first time. It was always interesting and exciting with Alex; But Piper also felt comfortable with her. No matter how intense things got, good or bad, she always felt comfortable around Alex.

Alex pulled away, putting her forehead against Pipers, their noses just barely touching. She reached down and locked her fingers with Pipers and smiled. "I really have to go."

"I know, but let's just enjoy this moment for a second." Piper replied softly.

The two just stood in the front hall together, enjoying the silence and each others company.

* * *

After Alex left, Piper made her way back downstairs to where Nicky and Lorna were. As she entered the room, the two of them had their lips locked, hands going everywhere.

"Whoa sorry." Piper said as she saw the two.

They both turned to her, a smirk on Nicky's face, and a look of embarrassment on Lorna's. "Would you mind knocking next time?"

"I uh- I just thought- I didn't realize that you two would be…"

"Chill, we just thought you were going home with Vause." Nicky replied laughing a bit.

"Right, well I just came back to take over the world… And enjoy my last two days not being grounded." Piper sat down and looked at the board.

"I still don't understand why it starts on friday." Lorna said as she took the dice in hand.

"Honestly I have no idea."

"Okay i'm sorry Nichols but i have to attack you." Lorna handed her the other pair of dice.

"Great." She rolled them and got a 4 and 5. Lorna rolled and got a 3, 5, 6.

"Ha!" She yelled excitedly.

Pipers phone started to ring. She stood up and walked over to the other side of the room. " _Piper, where are you? You need to be home in 20._ " Her father said.

"I'm with friends, why?" She looked over to Nicky and Lorna who were goofing around with the dice and playing pieces.

" _your mother and I are going out to that concert, remember? You need to look after your brother. Same with tomorrow._ "

Piper sighed. "Right… I'll be there soon. Bye dad." She hung up the phone.

"You have to head out?" Nicky asked as Piper made her way back over to the two sitting on the floor.

"Yeah. Apparently I have to babysit Cal today and tomorrow."

"Okay." Nick and Lorna stood up, and walked Piper to the front door. They said their goodbyes and Piper made her way back home.

* * *

When she finally got there, her parents had already left, leaving a note for her. She said hello to Cal and made her way into her room. She knew Cal was old enough to be home alone, but she just thought they both wanted to know where she was.

"Dad said they were going to be home around 1." Cal stood in the doorway of Pipers room.

"okay?"

"It's only 6:15."

"What is your point here?"

"I'd be fine if you wanted to head out. You know… if you wanted to see her."

"You mean Alex?" Piper sat up.

"Yep."

"Are you planning a party or something?"

"Nope. Just thought you would want to see her tonight."

"Okay you are totally getting at something here. Why do you want me to see her so badly?"

"You know it's been two years."

"Two years since what?" Piper was getting frustrated at Cal's vagueness.

"Since your date with Todd. That happened two years ago today."

"Why the hell would I care about my date with Todd-" Piper stopped herself. She remembered why that night was so important.

"See, now you remember. Now go." Cal insisted.

"Okay." Piper sighed as she sat up, grabbed the first hoodie she could find, and started to make her way down the stairs. "You aren't going to set the house on fire or anything, right?"

"Nope. Just going to play video games all night. And remember, be back before 1."

Piper nodded her head and opened the door. Before she left she turned around and said "Thanks" and left.

* * *

Piper knocked on Alex's front door. She heard the music turn down, and then someone walking towards the door.

"Piper, hey!" Diane said as she answered the door. "Were you looking for Alex?"

"I was yeah. Is she here?"

"She's not here, sorry to tell you. She mumbled something before heading out the door. Couldn't hear a single fuckin' word she said though."Diane laughed.

"Okay." Piper said. She was about to turn and leave when she asked Diane something, "Does that ever bother you? How you don't know where she goes?"

"I think if it were a different situation, then it would piss the fuck out of me, but I trust her. She's a sensible girl."

"Right… Well, i guess i'm going to go now. Thanks." Piper waved a small waved and left.

She had no idea where Alex could be, but she had a pretty good idea. Piper checked the time on her phone, and decided that it was late enough that she should just go home. She always hated just how far away they lived from each other.

* * *

When she got home she noticed Cal was talking to someone. She walked towards the dining room silently; The voices getting louder. As she peered into the room, she saw Alex and Cal sitting at the table, playing cards in hand.

"I'm just kicking your ass here." Alex said as she put down the final card in her hand onto the table.

"Dammit." Cal sighed.

Piper just stood and watched them for as long as she could without them noticing. She got so caught up with looking at them laughing that it took her a second to realize that Alex was calling her name.

"What?" Piper said as she snapped out of her daze.

"Ah, so now you hear me." Alex laughed as stood up and walked over to the blonde.

"What are you doing here?"

"I got bored and wanted to come see you." Alex kissed Piper softly.

"I just got back from trying to find you." Piper said as she walked passed Alex and into the kitchen.

"Really? I called and said I was coming over."

"I didn't know that." Piper said as she walked back into the room with a glass of water.

"I told your brother."

Piper looked over to Cal who was just sitting there watching the two. He then just shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry, must have forgotten."

"Right." Piper eyed her brother before leading Alex upstairs.

The two got up to Piper's room and closed the door. They sat on Pipers bed. "Did you plan it?"

"Plan what?" Alex asked.

"The game night. Did you know?"

Alex laughed. "I didn't. It was all Nicky's idea." She paused. "But it sounds better if I say I planned it… So yes, I did." Alex smirked before leaning over and kissing Piper.

The blonde fell onto her back, Alex on top of her. Their hands were going everywhere. Running through each others hair, exploring each others bodies.

Alex groaned as Piper pulled away. "Cal's here. We can't."

"You suck." Alex laughed as she kissed Piper and then rolled off of her, laying beside her.

"Don't I?"

"You really do."

"Yeah, but you love me, so it's fine." Piper joked.

"I really fucking love you." Alex replied as Piper kissed her more passionately then ever before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been reading all your guys' comments, and i need a minute to thank all of you! You are all so very awesome and I'm thrilled that you love this story! Your words mean a lot. 
> 
>  
> 
> Any idea's for future chapters?


	26. Being sick sucks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so this chapters not that long, but i actually really like it. It's pretty damn fluffy too! So i hope you like it!

It was Saturday morning and Alex woke up with a high fever. She felt so bad and out of it that she didn't find any motivation to get out of bed.

"You feeling better?" Diane said as she walked into her room.

"Not really." Alex replied in an even lower and raspier voice then normal.

"At least this time you are more aware about what the fuck is going on." She laughed as she sat on Alex's bed and handed her a cup of water.

"Thanks." She took a sip of the water before continuing. "You came in here earlier?"

"Yeah, you sounded like you were going to fucking die from all the coughing you were doing. You were so out of it."

"Where's my phone? I have to call in and say i'm sick." Alex started searching.

"Here." Diane picked the phone up off of the ground and handed it to her daughter. "Drink lot's of water, there's medicine on the windowsill beside you. I need to go out and buy some groceries and i'll be back later to check up on you."

"Thanks." She sighed as she fell back onto her pillow and started dialling her boss.

After a fairly short conversation with him, she threw her phone on the end of the bed and fell back asleep.

* * *

Hours after Alex had fallen asleep, she awoke to the sound of her phone ringing. She was so groggy after the long but horrible sleep that by the time she managed to reacher her phone the person stopped calling.

"Fuck." She sighed.

It started ringing again.

"Hello?" She said more quite then anticipated.

" _Hey Al, you okay? You don't sound great._ " Piper replied.

"Oh hey, yeah i'm really fucking sick. What time is it?"

" _It's about 5. I was going to see if we could meet up, but I see that you can't._ "

"Aren't you grounded?" Alex started coughing.

" _Yeah, but my parents are idiots. If I make an argument about it, then they would just give up and let me go. I think…_ "

"Right. Anyway Pipes, I gotta go. I still feel like absolute shit. I'll see you later."

" _Okay… bye._ " Piper hesitated for a second, hoping that Alex wouldn't hang up the phone before she could say something else, " _Feel better Al._ "

"Thanks." Alex coughed again. She hung up the phone.

* * *

"No, you are grounded and you aren't allowed out." Bill said as he sat down on his chair.

"Come on, my friend is sick and I want to go see her. I'll be home by 9. Please dad?" Piper pleaded.

"No. I don't like this Alex girl, and I don't want you seeing her."

"But-"

Bill looked up from his paper that he was reading, "Piper, no. Now can you please leave me be?"

"Fine." Piper sighed. She made her way up to her room and paced around.

_Piper- Hey, can you come pick me up? It's important._

_Nicky- Sneaking out? Hell yeah i'll help._

After 20 minutes of waiting in her room, she finally got a text back from Nicky saying she was right down the street. She put on her shoes and a leather jacket and opened up her bedroom window.

She looked down. There wasn't much of a drop, and thankfully with the way this house was built, it wasn't a direct fall. She would be able to climb down and then carefully jump down.

Piper started to make her way down. The first part was easy, but she suddenly got really scared of the height. "You better fucking appreciate this Alex." She muttered as she jumped.

"ow." She said to herself as she twisted her ankle when she reached the ground. "Crap." She said again as she noticed someone moving inside. Piper scurried up and away from the house towards where Nicky was parked.

"Jesus, you okay Chapman?" Nicky peered out of the car window while she watched Piper limp over to the car.

"I just… I'm not some kind of epic badass ninja." Piper laughed as she got into the car.

"So where we going? Wait, lemma guess… Tall, hot, glasses…" Nicky smirked. "Am I right?"

Piper rolled her eyes and sighed, "Just drive."

"You really find me hilarious, don't you?"

"Yes you are the reason I laugh." Piper joked. "Ugh what is this music?"

"What? It's Blondie. You don't like it?"

"Could be better."

"Okay well now you better get out of my car. Blondie is one of the most amazing bands. Don't hate."

15 minutes later they pulled up in front of Alex's apartment, Piper not wanting to get out of the car. "See, they grow on you!" Nicky teased. "Now come on, let's go."

"Fine." Piper got out of the car and slowly stood up. "I think i need some ice."

"Good idea. You going to be able to make it up those stairs?" Nicky opened the door, letting Piper walk in first.

"I'll be fi-" Piper stopped talking because of the pain that came with putting too much pressure on her left foot.

"Here." Nicky put Pipers arm around her neck, and helped her up the stairs.

It took longer then it normally would to climb the very stirs, but they finally made it to Alex's apartment, and knocked on the door.

Diane opened the door, surprised to see the two. "Well what a surprise. Come in." The two of them made their way inside. "I think Alex is awake."

"Cool." Nicky replied as the two of them made their way down the hall and into her room. "You awake?"

"What the fuck?" Alex looked up from the book she was reading.

"We came to say hi." Nicky walked in, Piper's arm still around her. She put her on Alex's bed. "I'll go get you some ice."

"Thanks." Piper replied as she shifted so her back was against the wall.

"Aren't you supposed to be at home with your lovely parents?" Alex joked.

"Very funny."

"Couldn't handle being away from me?"

"God no. It's been torture." Piper shifted over again to sit beside Alex. "Move over."

Alex rolled her eyes and moved over a bit. Piper winced because of the pain coming from her ankle while she moved. "You okay?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, I just twisted my ankle when I jumped out of my bedroom window."

"Holy shit." Alex lifted up her glasses onto her head. "Didn't realize you had that in you."

"Well I almost chickened out so…"

"You are such a badass." Alex smiled.

Just then Nicky walked back into the room holding an icepack, "I'm totally interrupting something."

"Yes… But it's fine. You are forgiven." Alex replied as she put her glasses back onto her face.

"Oh thank god, i really thought our friendship was over there." Nicky joked. She walked over and sat on the end of Alex's bed, throwing the icepack over to Piper.

"You guys are so weird." Piper laughed, putting the ice on her ankle.

"Thank you." Nicky laughed. "So how you feeling Vause?"

"Better then this morning. I slept so fucking long that now i'm just not tired."

"Shit. Being sick is never fun, especially over the weekend. At least during the week you can miss school." Nicky replied.

"It's so hard to miss school these days though. You miss a class and you are screwed for the rest of the year." Piper sighed.

"True, but it's not like that really matters anymore." Alex rolled her eyes and looked away from Piper.

"Wait, what does that mean?" Piper asked.

"Pipes…" Alex started. "You know school really doesn't count for anything for me."

"Right…"

"Alright, you guys hear what happened to Sarah?" Nicky said, breaking the conversation.

"No, what?" Piper asked.

"Well apparently she did so horribly in school last year that she had to repeat almost every single grade 11 class."

"Really? Shit, that explains so much." Piper replied.

"Wow." was Alex's only response. She now couldn't stop thinking about how that could have been her. She could have really screwed herself over.

"You know you've been out for almost two hours right?" Nicky added.

"Shit." Piper said as she realized how long she had been out for. If her parents knew she and left they would probably kill her.

"I hope you feel better Alex." Nicky said as she stood up and walked over to the door. "I'd hug you, but i don't wanna get sick."

"Understandable." Alex agreed.

"You able to walk Piper?" Nicky asked.

"I'll be fine, thanks." Piper replied. Nicky nodded her head and walked down the hall. Piper slowly moved down the bed and then stood up. The pain wasn't as bad as it was before, but it still hurt.

"Hey, thanks for coming over." Alex said.

Piper limped over beside Alex and knelt down to keep little pressure on her ankle. She then took her hand and locked hers and Alex's fingers together, and smiled. The next thing Alex knew Piper's lips were on hers. The kiss didn't last very long, but it felt so amazing that it felt like forever.

"I'm sick." Alex said as she pulled away, right before coughing a few times.

"I know, but I needed to do that." Piper squeezed her hand.

"God I love you."

"I love you too." Piper replied as she kissed Alex one more time before standing up. "Nicky's going to kill me if I take any longer… But I'll see you on Monday, alright?" She started making her way to Alex's bedroom door.

"What if i'm to sick to go to school?"

"Then i'll just come here." Piper replied as she stood in the door frame.

"You really are a badass." Alex joked.

Piper just smirked before walked down the hall towards Nicky.

Alex sighed and rested her head on the wall behind her. Although she felt like crap form feeling so sick, the last two hours made her feel better then ever. "I really love you." She mumbled to herself.

* * *

Nicky dropped Piper off in the same place she picked her up. Piper made her way slowly towards her house when she realized that she didn't actually think about how she would get back  _inside_  her house. "Shit."

She walked over to the back of her house and looked into the kitchen, no one was there. One window was already open just a bit, so she opened up more to get in. She lifted up and out her head through the opening.

Piper was almost fully through the window when Cal walked in. He took one glance at his sister, and then burst out in laughter.

"You are a fucking idiot." He laughed. Piper was now almost full through, but the second she was fully in the house her hand slipped and she fell off of the counter.

"Ow fuck!" She yelled.

"Crap are you okay?" Cal said as he rushed over beside her. Just then her parents rushed in to see what was going on.

"Piper, what are you doing on the floor?" Her mother asked. Piper rolled her eyes at the tone. It sounded like she didn't actually care why, she just felt like she had to ask.

"Long story." Piper replied.

"Come one Piper, let me help you up." Her father said as he walked over to her and stuck a hand out for her to take, which she did. "I thought we went over standing on the counter with Cal, I didn't think we needed to talk to you about that."

Piper looked over to her brother. "You still stand on the counter?"

"I'm still pretty short. When I grow, I won't have to." He replied.

"Right, well I'm going up." Piper started walking away.

"Why are you limping?" Bill asked.

"Uh... Because I fell off of the counter?" She replied.

"Okay. Go to bed and get some rest. Maybe study a little bit. I don't need you failing the most important year."

Piper just nodded her head and then made her way upstairs into her room.

_Alex- Thank you for visiting_

__Piper- You are worth the trouble._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm curious, what did you all think?


	27. Unexpected phone calls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is longer then the last, and it's definitely more of a Piper chapter... but there's a fairly big Alex moment... hope you enjoy!

A whole week went by. Piper went to school, and then straight home. She hated how her alarm system could also record when people came in and out of the house. It was smart, but not great for staying out later then she wanted.

It was Saturday, the first day she would be able to go out. Her parents still didn't want her to see Alex, but she didn't care. Most of the time she would lie and say she was with Polly anyway.

Piper was on her way to meet Alex at her work when her phone rang. "Hello?"

" _Hey, Piper?_ "

"Yeah?"

" _Hi, it's Julie Goodman, Grace and Tyler's mother. I was wondering if you were available to come over and look after them tonight? I know it's last minute, but our other sitter just called and is out sick._ "

"Uhm, yeah i'm available. What time do you need me to be over?"

" _5:30. My husband and I have to be out the door at 5:45 at the latest._ "

"Alright, i'll be there on time then."

" _Great, thank you so much. I'll see you later, bye._ "

"Bye." Piper hung up the phone.

"Who was that?" Alex asked as she walked out of the store and over to Piper.

"It was uh, the woman I sometimes baby sit for. She needed someone last minute to look after the kids."

"So our plan's are going to be cut short?" Alex arched an eyebrow.

"Sadly."

"Well then I guess we better make our time count. " she smirked and kissed Piper.

"I've got... One hour."

The two of then made their way back to Alex's apartment. It took longer then they would have liked to get there, but they still had quite a bit of time before Piper had to be at the Goodman's.

* * *

 

"You defiantly made that hour count." Piper said as she lazily kissed Alex.

"At least this time we don't have to scramble to find clothes." Alex replied.

Piper let out a small laugh at the memory of Alex stumbling around not being able to see much. "It made it more memorable though." She added.

"Seriously? That's what's memorable?" Alex scoffed.

Piper just shook her head and pressed her lips onto Alex's, running her hands through her black hair. She then moved one hand down to Alex's breast for a short while before moving her hand down towards her centre. She started to rub her clit, making Alex let out a small moan.

"Fuck you are already getting better at this." Alex says this in a way that make's Piper even more determined to show Alex just how good she could feel.

She slips her hand inside Alex. Piper then pulls away from the hot, messy, kissing and makes her way down to suck Alex's hard nipples. "Fuck, Piper."

She stop's sucking, and kisses a path all the way down the Alex's centre, where she started to suck on her clit while moving her fingers in and out of her. Piper hit Alex's g-spot, making Alex call out her name.

Alex's hips thrusted forward, giving her more pleasure. She was gripping at the bedsheets, wanting this feeling to never stop, even though she knew she was close.

Piper felt Alex tighten around her and before she knew it, Alex had hit her climax. Alex tasted more amazing this time then pervious times. It was sort of an unfamiliar taste, but it was something Piper loved. She loved how Alex tasted.

Alex was breathing heavily, sweat covering her skin. Piper came up, and kissed her. "You are amazing." Alex said softly.

"I learned from the best." Piper replied against Alex's lips.

* * *

"Shit, i'm running late." Piper said as she stood up from tying her shoelaces.

"Sorry about that…" Alex replied.

"I think it was worth it."

"Will I be seeing you later?"

"Julie and Mark wont be home probably until 2. But i'll see you tomorrow." Piper kissed Alex before opening the door.

"Alright, just remember what you are giving up to go do this." Alex said as she watched Piper make her way down the stairs.

Piper turned around, gave a small wave while saying "Bye Alex."

* * *

"Thank you so much for coming on such short notice. Now we really have to run, but you have my cell number… and all the emergency contacts are on the fridge." Julie said as she put on her coat and paced around while looking for things she didn't even need.

"Yes, and I know where you guys are going. Kid's have to be in bed by 8:15, and only one hour of tv." Piper replied. Every time Julie would say the same thing.

"Jul, you're stressing. It'll be fine, Piper's good with the kids." Mark reassured her.

She nodded and walked over to the front door. "Alright, we'll be home no later than 3."

"Okay, have fun!" Piper said as the two of them opened up the door.

"Grace, Tyler! Be good okay?" Julie shouted.

"Okay!" The two of them said at the same time.

They then walked out the door.

"Alright, so are you two hungry?" Piper asked as she walked into the family room where both Tyler and Grace were playing.

"Kraft Dinner!" Tyler shouts out.

"Yeah!" Grace agree's excitedly.

"Alright. I'm going to go put the water on, you two stay here okay?"

"Okay!" They both agreed.

Piper was in the kitchen putting the water on the stove when Grace came in holding a book of paper, and some pencil crayons. "Hi!" She said as she sat at the table.

"Are you going to draw?" Piper asked as she walks over.

"Yep!"

"Your brother okay in the other room?"

"Yeah he's playing with his trains." She replies as she get's out her pencil crayons and organizes them neatly. Piper tried to hold back a laugh, but she couldn't hold her smile.

Piper's phone buzzed. She walked over to the counter where she had left it, to find two un-read messages. One from Polly:

_Polly- I've been missing our us time. Sleep over tonight?_

_Piper- I'm babysitting at a house near you. I could come crash at your place around 2:30?_

And another from Nicky:

_Nicky- Lorna and I were supposed to have some alone time tonight… Thank's for leaving your girlfriend with us. So helpful._

_Piper- Sorry. I will take her off your hands tomorrow._

"I wish I had a cell phone. My mom say's I can't get one until i'm much older." Grace says.

"That's a good thing. Kid's your age shouldn't have phone's."

"That's what my mom say's."

"What are you drawing?"

"Nothing. You'll see later." She replies as she colours messily.

Before Piper could look over Grace's shoulder, she hear's the lid of the pot, making her know the water is boiled. She pours in the pasta. "I'm going to check on your brother."

Tyler was in the room just next to the kitchen. He was still sitting on the floor playing with his train set. Piper smiled, walked over, and sat across from him. "Nice trains."

"Thanks." He replies, still focused on moving this one red train.

_Polly- Sounds good. That's when the real parties start anyway._

_Piper- party?_

"I have to go check on the food." Piper stood up and walked into the kitchen. She checked the past to see how close it was to being done. "about 10 minutes until dinner." She told Grace.

Ten minutes of Piper talking to Grace, only getting one or two word answers. She got up to check the food. It was done.

"Tyler, dinner!" Piper called out. He came racing in, still holding his red train. "Go wash up."

"Okay." They both sighed. Tyler was the first to come back out of the washroom, followed by Grace a minute later.

Piper put down a bowl in front of each of them, filled with the pasta. She then sat down at the table with them, holding a bowl of her own.

It was a fairly quick dinner, as they both finished within 10 minutes. They then ran into the family room, wanting to watch a movie. Piper was hesitant to let them because she promised their mother that they would only watch an hour, but after a few minutes of begging she caved.

It took a while for them to actually chose something to watch, but they eventually decided on The Incredibles.

Piper sat on the couch while Grace and Tyler sat on the floor watching the movie. Piper actually quite enjoyed the movie, so she was fairly happy to sit and watch.

_Polly- Yeah, a party. At Pete's place._

_Piper- You do remember the last party there… right?_

_Polly- … it'll be different this time. I'll be with you the whole night, no drama._

_Piper- Fine, but I'm allowed to bail early if necessary._

* * *

The movie ended and Tyler and Grace were falling asleep. Piper got them to bed. As she was leaving Grace's room, she turned around at the sound of her name. "Piper?"

"Yeah?" She replied softly.

"I drew you something." Grace got up out of bed and ran downstairs, where she had left all of her colouring things. Piper sighed and followed her.

Grace then ran up the stairs, stopping in the middle where Piper was walking to follow her. "Here."

Piper took the piece of paper, but didn't look at it. "Thank you, not let's go to bed, okay?"

"Okay." Grace agreed as she then ran into her room. "Aren't you going to look at it?"

"Right, yes." Piper said as she watched Grace climb into her bed. She then looked down at the pice of paper. On it there was a drawing of what looked like a play set at a park. Then standing next to it were two stick figures, one with blonde hair, and the other with black hair and glasses who was also quite a bit taller then the other.

"It's you and that girl!" She said excitedly. "I didn't know what else to draw you."

"It's lovely." Piper said as she walked over beside her bed. "Thank you."

Grace held out her arms for a huge. Piper wrapped her arms around the little girl and squeezed tightly. "I'm sure Alex will love this to."

"I hope so. I like her."

A smile crossed Pipers face, her first thought being  _who doesn't?_  but she just replied with, "me too."

Piper turned off the lights and closed the door halfway. She then headed downstairs to the family room and flopped onto the couch. She turned on the TV and channel surfed for a while before coming across a 'Community' marathon.

* * *

Piper woke up to the sound of the door closing. Startled she shot up and looked over at the time.  _1:23am._

"hello?" The sound of Julie's voice made the startled feeling in Piper go away.

"Hey, you are home early." Piper said as she walked over to the front door.

"I need to be into work early tomorrow." Mark sighed as he walked further into the house.

"Uh… Let me get my wallet." Julie said as she searched through her purse. "Here you go." She handed Piper some cash.

"Thank you." Piper said as she took the money. "I'll be heading out now."

"Again, thank you so much for being hear on such short notice."

"It was not a problem." Piper said as she put on her coat and shoes. "Call me again if you ever need."

"The kids were good?"

"Yes, they were great."

"Great." Julie replied as she put her coat in the closet.

"Alright, well bye."

"Bye!"

Piper opened the door and stepped outside. It was cold and dark, but she was now fully awake and ready for whatever party Polly was dragging her to. She made her way down the street, texting Polly that she would be there early.

After about a ten minute walk, Piper made her way to the front door of Polly's house, and knocked on the door.

Polly opened the door and greeted her friend. They made their way up to her room where she gave Piper an option of dresses to put on. "I didn't realize this was a dress up thing."

"Of course it is." Polly replied as she pulled out her own dress to wear. "This party's going to be insane."

"I'm assuming this is an annual party, seeing as we went last year too."

"It is. And last year was fun, right? I mean, you can't say you didn't have fun."

"Okay yeah it was fun, but this whole last minute thing-"

"I swore I made planes with you earlier about this, but my bad." Polly replied.

Piper was in the bathroom that was attached to Polly's bedroom. She stepped out wearing a tight blue sleeveless dress. "Damn that looks fucking good on you."

"You think so?" Piper replied as she looked at herself in Polly's full-length mirror.

"Hell yeah. My make's over there."

After about 25 minutes the two of them were ready to go. It was the fastest either of them had been able to actually get ready. They headed out the door and over to Pete's house.

* * *

"You sure the party will be going on for much longer?" Piper asks as they near the house.

"Oh i'm sure. You know how every year it has a sort of a theme?"

"Yeah."

"This year's is stay up until the sun rises getting drunk."

"Creative." Piper replied as they walk up to the house. The music was loud when you entered the house, but surprisingly quite outside.

The beat of the bass was not nearly as bad as Piper dreaded it to be. It was weird, ever since Alex's musical influence got to Piper, she couldn't actually stand most of the popular music that everyone was listening to. Piper had grown to like more alternative music. A lot of the older classic rock stuff to.

But like everyone else, she enjoyed the catchiness of the music. After a few drinks Piper was on the dance floor dancing with Polly. Kesha was blasting, and although there were a few people who protested the playing of the song, both Piper and Polly were yelling out the lyrics to "We R Who We R" like complete and totally idiots.

At some point Piper ended up dancing alone. Polly had screwed off with Pete. Or went to get another drink. Piper didn't know. She was too drunk and too into the moment to really care.

She felt someone come up behind her and start grinding against her, which she didn't protest to because her first thought was that it was just Alex. But after a short while she realized that Alex wasn't there. Piper turned around to see some random guy, who thought she was turing around to make-out, so he went into to her.

Piper pulled away before anything could happy. She was drunk, but not drunk enough to fuck up anything. That wasn't going to happen this time.

"Hey back off!" Polly yelled at him over the music. The guy then left to go dance with some other girl. "Sorry i took so long. Sort of got caught up."

"It's fine." Piper said as she took the shot Polly was offering.

Just then Somebody Told Me by The Killers came on. The two turned and looked at each other with wide eyes as they remembered dancing and jumping on one of their beds to this song when they were a lot younger.

The two dance and yelled the music, not caring what anyone else looked like. This was the first time since Polly had arrived that they both felt like they really were best friends. Best friends like they use to be.

* * *

"I feel like i'm eight."

"I know. I feel like this is the first time we have really… connected again." Polly replied.

The two of them were outside on Pete's back deck, watching the sky slowly go from night to day.

"So how are you and Alex doing?"

"We're… really good."

"You hesitated. Pipe, why'd you hesitate?"

Piper laughed. "That wasn't intentional."

"You sure?" Polly asked jokingly.

"You still don't like her… Do you?"

"I'm not her biggest fan, that's for sure." Polly started. "But she does have this certain charm to her." A smile crossed Piper's face.

It was silent for a little while as they watched the sun rise. Then they decided to go back to Polly's house and get some sleep.

* * *

Piper woke up startled to the sound of her phone buzzing. She slowly searched for it, and found it lost in the sheets of the bed. "Hello?"

 _"_ _Did you just wake up?_ " Alex could hear the sleep in Piper's voice.

"You did." Piper sighed as she looked over at the clock.  _12:30._  "Shit it's late."

_"_ _Late night with the kids?"_

"No, more like a crazy night out with Polly."

 _"_ _So you decided to ditch me for her?"_ Piper could tell Alex was joking, even though the tone of her voice hadn't changed much. In fact, Piper was 99% sure Alex had just arched an eyebrow when she said that.

"I didn't realize I was going to end up at a party at three in the morning."

_"_ _Right, well you still up for hanging out today?"_

"Oh, yeah. Yes for sure. Just give me an hour?"

_"_ _Sure. I'll pick you up at Polly's, okay?"_

"That sounds great, see you then."

_"_ _See you, Pipes"_

* * *

Alex hung up her phone. She had an hour to kill, and she wasn't sure what to do during that time. Thankfully her phone rang, taking her mind off of what to do.

"Hello?"

 _"_ _Hey, Alex. It's Joe._ "

"Oh, hey, what's up?" Alex was slightly worried that she was going to be called in for work.

_"_ _I've got two tickets to this band, Death Maiden. I think you mentioned them once and was wondering if you wanted the tickets."_

Alex was shocked and couldn't even speak. They hadn't been touring much recently, and they didn't seem to be much of a band these days. "Uh, y-yeah. I'd take them."

_"_ _Alright, great. The concert is on October 20th in New Haven."_

"Okay cool. Thanks."

_"_ _No problem. I'll see you tomorrow."_

Alex hung up the phone, stunned. New Haven wasn't that far away. She was able to go.  _She was going to go._  Then it hit her: She's going to see her father.  _Her father._  The person she looked up to. The person who her mother told her to be proud to have as a father.

Alex sat on the couch in her apartment, staring in front of her, starting to think of all of the possible scenarios of meeting him. Lee Burley, the drummer for Death Maiden. Her father.

And then the doubt crept in. What if he wasn't what she thought. What if he was some run down- No. No Alex wouldn't think that. She told herself not to think about it. To not have her hope's up. To have no hope's about it at all.

If she didn't expect anything, then she wouldn't be able to be let down- at least that's what she kept telling herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to write smut but it turned out to be really short and idk... i tried.  
> Anyway, what'd you think?


	28. Come with me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! I've been excited for you guys to read this chapter! I really like it... There may or may not be a new character being introduced...  
> Anyway, enjoy!

Piper and Polly were drinking a cup of coffee in the living room. They were talking about which schools they hoped to get into, and which schools they were currently doing their application for. Piper was very set on going to school at Smith college, and so was Polly. 

 

Both of them were fairly relieved at the thought of going to college and actually knowing people. They had both changed from when they knew each other when they were kids, and now it seems like a more logical thing to say they wanted to go to college together. They both knew each other well enough that it wouldn’t be awkward, but not well enough that it would be awkward if they drifted apart. 

 

“So, you and Pete still… good? I didn’t see you two together last night at all.”

“I decided to break it off. We’re still on great terms, and occasionally hook up, but it’s not serious.” 

“Wait- When did that even happen?”

 

“Uhm, near the begging of school.”

 

“And you didn’t tell me?” Piper sat up, nearly spilling her drink. 

 

“Sorry, you were just so caught up in you little world with Alex… I didn’t bother telling you.” 

 

“Pol-“ Polly cut her off.

 

“It’s fine Pipe. Beside’s I had Larry to talk to. It’s cool.” 

 

“Okay now that is not much help.” 

 

“Sorry, it was when you two were still dating. Larry was pretty pissed about everything, but i kept his mind off of you and Alex.” 

 

“And what the hell does that mean?” Anger was forming in Piper’s tone. 

 

“It means I told him about all this Pete drama and how he was being an immature ass.” 

  
The anger went away, and left Piper feeling guilty about not being there for her friend. “You could have talked to me…” 

 

“I know, but I also didn’t want to interrupt you guys staring at each other when the other was looking away.” Polly paused for a second. “I didn’t want to interrupt you. I would’ve interrupted Alex.” 

 

“Very funny.” Piper replied sarcastically. She looked out the window to see Alex’s car parked outside. The car was actually her mothers, but sometimes Alex would take it while Diane was working. She never minded as long as she had a ride home. 

 

Alex was visible from the front window, standing outside the front door. She rang the door bell, and Piper hopped up off the couch and answered the door. 

 

“Hey!” Alex smiled. 

 

“Hey.” Piper smiled back. “I gotta go get my shit. Come in though.”

 

Alex entered into the house, away from the grey, damp, day. She stood in the front hall, looking around at Polly’s big house. She wasn’t use to being in giant houses, and although it wasn’t as big as Nicky’s house, it was pretty damn big.

 

“So…” Polly started as she sat on the staircase. 

 

“You know, we don’t have to make small talk.” 

 

“Right.” 

 

The two of them awkwardly looked around the room, the silence getting more and more awkward. Polly got out her phone and started to text at one point. Polly’s house was very white, and Alex really stuck out. She was wearing her black leather jacket, a faded black v-neck with a grey hoodie, black pants and black docs. Her black hair and glasses really didn’t help. 

 

“So, do you own anything with colour?” Polly asked, breaking the silence. 

 

“Uh, probably.” Alex replied. 

 

More silence. 

 

Piper came down the stairs, and walked past Polly. “You ready to go?” She asked. 

 

“Yeah.” Alex nodded. She then opened the door and waved bye to Polly. Piper raced over and gave her friend a hug before leaving after Alex. 

 

* * *

 

“So where are we going?” Piper asked as they drove. 

 

“Uh, anything specific you want to do?”

 

“I’m pretty easy.”

 

“Alright cool.” Alex replied as she made turn. They drove a few blocks and then parked right outside a tattoo parlour. 

 

Piper looked out the window at the store. “Uhm…”

 

Alex opened the door on Piper’s side. “Remember when I said I wanted to get a tattoo?”

 

“Yeah.” Piper replied. 

 

“Well, that day is today.”

 

* * *

 

A few hours had gone by, and Alex had just gotten her first tattoo; A few red roses on her upper right arm. She had always loved the look of roses at tattoos, and although people probably wouldn’t have considered it the most badass tattoo you could get, Alex looked like a fucking badass. 

 

Piper was also considering getting one, but she chickened out after seeing someone actually getting it done. Alex teased her about it a bit, but then told her that they weren’t for everyone. 

 

“So how much did it hurt?” Piper asked as the two walked down the street, looking for a place to eat. 

 

“It was painful… But it was like, a good kind of painful, you know?”

 

“Right, well maybe one day i’ll decide to get a tattoo of some exotic… fish or something.” She laughed. 

 

“A fish?” Alex smirked.

 

“Okay well… Maybe not a fish. But maybe something someday.” Their hands brushed together, and they both looked at each other. Alex then took her hand in Piper’s for only a second before getting startled by the familiar voice of Piper’s mother. 

  
“Piper!” She called out. 

 

Piper turned around, embarrassed. “Hey, mom!” 

 

“I’m on my home from the store. Do you need a ride home?” Carol pretty much ignored the fact that Alex was standing right beside Piper. She barely even glanced her way.

 

“No uh, i’m spending the day with Alex.” Piper monitored towards Alex, who was standing there with a confused and bored look on her face. 

 

"Oh okay. Well just be home in time for dinner. Your grandmother is coming over" she replied as she continued walking. She gave Piper a hug and gave Alex a look that said she knew she was there, but didn't care to actually speak. 

 

The two continued walking until they found themselves at a small burger place. They went inside, the smell of food making them realize just how hungry they were. They both ordered their food, and waited to get their order. 

 

"So... Do your parents just not know where you are most of the time?" Alex asked, thinking back on how shocked her mother seemed to be when they saw her. 

 

"They normally do I honestly, I just kind of forgot to mention I wasn't coming straight home from Polly's." She paused for a second, remembering the conversation shad with Alex's mother, and how Alex seemed to just go out at random times without saying where. "Do you tell your mom where you go?"

 

Their order number was called and they picked up their food and headed over to a table. "I do, yeah. I just normally answer where I go after I get home. Besides, it's not like my mother is really home enough to even know when I go out."

 

What Alex just said really made Piper think about Alex’s home life was really like. Not just now, but when she was younger too. They had spoken about it before, but never in much detail because Alex never liked to talk about it much. She had spoken very highly about her dad, even though she had never actually met him. 

 

But Piper couldn’t stop thinking about how Alex grew up with her mother almost never home. But they were very, very close. 

 

Piper slowly snapped out of her thoughts, and looked up at Alex who was sitting across from her, a smirk on her face. “So where’d i lose you?”

 

“What?”

 

“You totally just spaced out on me.” 

 

“Right.” 

 

“What’s on you mind?”

 

“Nothing I was just sort of wondering…” Piper paused for a second. “Have you ever been curious about meeting your father?”

 

Alex was caught off guard by the question, and her first reaction was to go on the defensive side, but she didn’t. She then started thinking about the phone call she had gotten only hours ago. She was thinking about meeting him, but it was only know that she started thinking about it in depth. 

 

“Actually…” Alex started, but she couldn’t find the words to continue. 

 

“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to-“

 

“No it’s fine. But uh… I think… I’m going to meet him.” 

 

“Really? W-“ Piper stopped herself from asking all these questions that she wanted to know the answer to. 

 

“His bands playing in New Haven at the end of October…” Alex had told Piper that he was in a really great band, and that he was a great drummer, but she had never actually told he the name of the band, and when she said the name “Death Maiden” Pipers expression changed drastically. 

 

“Wait… That’s your fathers band? You mean…” 

 

“Yeah, that record you got me, with his signature… That was him.” Alex looked down to her fidgeting hands, trying to not show how vulnerable she really felt at that moment.

 

Piper didn't know what to say next. 

 

"So now you know why that meant so much to me..." Alex let out a small laugh. A smile then crept onto Pipers face. "I'm kind of scared to meet him though." She admitted. 

 

Piper noodled her head, knowing that yeah, it would be a terrifying thing. Meeting your father who you look up to so much, but not knowing what he would actually be like. That's scary. 

 

* * *

 

 “So Piper, how was your day?” Celeste asked after everyone else had finished talking about their day. 

 

“It was good actually. I spent the day with… Alex.” Piper replied hesitantly, as she didn’t really know if she should just say Alex, or friend, or girlfriend. 

 

“Is Alex your boyfriend?” 

 

As Piper was about to speak up, Carol chimed in with, “Alex is Piper’s friend, though I still don’t understand _why._ ” 

 

Celeste ignored the huge emphasis on the ‘why’ and started to talk about something else. 

 

Piper had always loved her grandmother, but she somehow picked up on this families need for hiding the truth, so even if Piper wanted to tell her about Alex it probably would have gotten her in trouble. But in trouble for lying about something that is not ‘appropriate’ as her mother would say. 

 

As everyone was cleaning up dinner, Carol pulled Piper aside. “So, your father and I have given you sometime to think about this whole… Alex thing, and we’ve given ourselves time to think as well. And we just don't think you should be seeing this girl.”

 

“Mom, i’m not just going to stop seeing her because you don’t want me to.”

 

“Why would someone like you hang out with someone like her? We just think it’s time you expand and… Try out new things. Meet new people.” 

 

“Meet new people? You mean date new people.” 

 

“There’s this nice young fellow… Larry something. We all think you two would look nice together.” 

 

Piper’s expression changed from annoyed to worried the second she heard Larry’s name. Even though she wasn’t even sure it was that _same_ Larry. “I’m not going out on a date with some guy i’ve never even met. Especially since i’m in a relationship.” 

 

“Piper, we just think it would be good for you.” 

 

“Thank’s, but i’m not going.” She turned around and headed up to her room. Her mother was about to call on her to get back, but she was fed up and didn’t want to try any more. 

 

* * *

 

Monday morning came, and no one was really up for doing anything. There were a few collages coming into the school to talk to students and try to get them to apply to their school. Piper went to as many of them as she could, and got applications for them to apply to. She was starting to get really stressed about it all. 

 

Alex on the other hand knew she would never be able to afford to go, so instead of going to the meetings, she would ditch and go somewhere else. Today she decided to get extra shifts at work. It was almost the first of the month, which meant rent was due. 

 

Diane would always appose of Alex helping out with money around the house, but whenever she could she would help out. After all Alex wasn’t spending the money on much else. In fact the whole reason she got this job was to help out.  
  
The studio she worked at wasn’t going to give Alex a very high paying job after showing up high every day for a few months. 

 

When Alex had gotten to the store, she was confused to see a new girl sitting at the cash. Her boss came out to greet Alex, and introduce the two. “Alex, this is Emma.”

 

Emma stood up and put her hand out for Alex to shake. “Hey.” 

 

“Hey.” Alex replied, taking her hand and shaking it firmly. 

 

Emma was quite a few inches shorter then Alex. She had long dyed red hair, blue eyes, and was wearing a lot of dark make up. Her eyeliner wasn’t quite as good-looking as Alex’s though. 

 

“You two will be working most shifts together now. And Alex I expect you two show her how things are run here.” 

 

Alex nodded her head as he then said goodbye and left the store. Emma sat back down and put her feet up on the cash desk. It was hard not to notice the platforms on the girls combat books. Or the many rips in her black jeans. On the back of the chair was a heavily studded leather jacket, which Alex assumed was Emma’s as well. 

 

“So do you like, sit here all day and get high or something?”

 

“Uhm, you probably could.” Alex gave her this look as if she really didn’t care what she did. Because really, Alex couldn’t give a fuck about what this Emma person did. 

 

“Cool.” Emma replied. 

 

It was at a moment where Alex was glad to be herself. When someone this good-looking were to start working with you, most people would probably try to impress them and act cooler then they are; which normally makes them look like an ass. But Alex knew she didn’t have to work for this girls approval. She didn’t give a shit. 

 

That very ‘I don’t care about what you do’ vibe seemed to be radiating off of Alex, and it seemed to have attracted Emma’s attention. 

 

“You wanna smoke?” She asked. 

 

Alex just shook her head, pulled up a chair and put her headphones on, making Emma want Alex’s attention more. 

  
The cocky, i don't give a shit Alex attitude seemed very attractive to people, especially since she herself was very attractive. Emma now wanted to impress Alex.

 

* * *

 

“There’s a new girl at work.” Alex mentioned to Piper as the two of them lay beside each other on Alex’s bed. 

 

“Oh?” 

 

“Yeah. Now I get to spend most of my shifts with her. That’ll be fun.” 

 

“I’m sure she’s happy about that.” Alex could hear a hint of jealousy in Piper’s tone. 

 

“What does that mean?” Alex smirked as she looked over to Piper. 

 

“Nothing.”

 

“Jealous?”

 

“Maybe a bit.” Piper admitted as she turned to face Alex, who was still smirking. 

 

Alex brushed Piper’s hair behind her ear, her hand then caressing Piper’s cheek. “Don’t worry, i’m all yours, kid.”

 

Silence. 

 

“Come with me.” The way Alex said it wasn’t like a question, but more of a statement. 

 

“To where?”

 

“To the concert. To meet my father.” 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so... Piper will be going with Alex... 
> 
> (Also Alex's first tattoo! Exciting!)
> 
> I'd love to hear your thoughts on the chapter and on Emma!


	29. October 20th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! so... I think it's time for Alex to finally meet her father... and also so Piper interaction with Emma? Lets see how that goes...

Most of October went by pretty weirdly. College applications were becoming a huge deal, and everyone was stressing out. Piper and Alex were hanging out more and more at Alex’s work, because she needed as many shifts as she could get. 

 

Emma was almost always there with the two, but she minded her business for the most part. Piper would always see Emma flirting with Alex on occasion though, which made Piper more jealous. Piper would make some snide comment toward Emma, and Alex would just laugh. 

 

It was October 19th, the day before the concert, which thankfully for Piper was on a Saturday. The two were at the record store, with about 20 minutes left of Alex’s shift. 

 

Alex and Piper were standing in an isles, both of them looking through CD’s, when Emma walked over to Alex. “I’m heading out. You can close up, yeah?” She put her hand on Alex’s arm that was leaning against a row of CD’s. 

 

“Yeah sure.” Alex replied. 

 

“Thanks.” She slid her hand down and held onto Alex’s for a few seconds before looking over at Piper, shooting her a look, and then headed out of the store. 

 

Once she was gone Piper made her way over to Alex who had continued to look through the CD’s. “Can you believe her?”

 

“I know, she’s gotten better at the whole flirting thing.” 

 

Piper hit Alex on the arm, somewhat jokingly. “I’m serious Alex. Is she always like this?”

 

“Chill Pipes, it’s not like i’m flirting back.” 

 

“You’re always flirting back with everyone!” Piper said loudly, followed by a comment at a lower tone, “That’s why you’re so charming all the time.” 

 

Alex smirked and raised an eyebrow. “Charming? What am I, a disney prince?”

 

“You know what I mean.” Piper shook her head, staring at the door, “I so don’t like her.” 

 

“I don’t think i’ve ever seen you this jealous before.” 

 

“I’ve seen you this jealous before.” Piper replied, looking down at the CD’s in Alex’s hands. 

 

“Really? When?”

 

“Remember back in grade ten with Todd? I was talking to you about him, and you got all defensive and jealous.” Piper had started to trail off, thinking about how much younger they were. Even thinking about Alex being jealous made no sense to Piper now. Alex had turned into someone who you would be jealous _of_ , not someone who would be jealous of someone else. 

 

Alex had really changed. From this young girl who had no clue just how charming she was, to being someone who used that charm every day for some reason or another. 

 

“Okay, but I wasn’t nearly as jealous as you are now.” Alex replied, snapping Piper out of her thoughts. 

 

“Fine.” Piper gave up. 

 

* * *

 

The rest of the night went by pretty normally. The two of them headed over to Alex's apartment and spent most of the night goofing around, listening to music, and had a lot of sex. But that's what most of their Friday nights had turned into.  

 

Piper was on her way out the door when she said something that hit Alex hard, "I'll pick you up tomorrow to drive to new haven okay?"

 

All Alex did was smile and nod. Once Piper was gone all she could think of was how tomorrow would go down.

 

Every single scenario crossed her mind. The good, the bad, the in between. A combination of good and bad. She thought of everything that she could think could happen. 

 

As she lay in her her bed she looked over at the clock on her bedside table. _2:55am_.

It was too soon. It was already October 20th, and she wasn't prepared for the long day that had already started. 

 

Alex knew she had to get at least some sleep, so she lay on her bed looking up at her ceiling, but her mind was so loud that she couldn't get to sleep. Anxiety built up in her, and she felt herself needing to cry. 

 

But she didn't. 

 

She hadn't even met him yet, so why would she allow herself to cry over nothing? Alex just lay in her bed all night, trying not to get too excited, or to scared. 

 

Alex didn't get any sleep that night. 

 

* * *

 

When Diane got home at around 7:30, Alex figured it would be an okay time to get up and start her day. But when Diane saw her daughter emerge from her room, she knew something was up. "You okay? I can't remember the last time you were up before 12."

 

"I do get up early for school."

 

"Not that much earlier." Diane laughed. "Why you up so early?"

 

"Couldn't sleep. Just too much on my mind."

 

"Everything good with you and Piper?" Diane flopped down on the couch, tired from her shift. 

 

"Yeah everything's fine." Alex really didn't want to tell her mother that she was going to her fathers concert tonight. She had no idea what the reaction would be, and honestly she didn't want her to know in case everything went horribly. "How was work?"

 

"It was better than most nights actually. John was out sick which meant we didn't have to deal with his fucking blabbing about not gettin' any" she rolled her eyes. "With his piss poor attitude it's not hard to believe."

 

"He's still going on about that? Hasn't he been complaining about that ever since he started?" A small laugh left Alex. 

 

Diane smiled. She knew there was something bugging Alex, and seeing her laugh made her know she was getting more comfortable. "Everyone's fucking tired of it, but he does his job well so it looks like he'll be around for a while."

 

The missing sleep caught up with Alex, "I'm going back to sleep... By the way, I'm going out tonight with Piper, so I'll be home late."

 

"Alright babe. I'll see you tomorrow" Dine smiled and stretched out on the couch. Alex laughed. Her mother had taken to sleeping on the couch because apparently it was more comfortable then her bed. 

 

* * *

 

Alex woke up at 2:20 by the sound of her phone going off like crazy. She took a minute to wake up as much as she could.She then grabbed her glasses and put them onto her face. 

 

_Piper- Are you awake?_

_Piper- Al is everything okay?_

_Piper- i’m trapped in a burning building… help?_

_Piper- okay maybe I tried to hard there… but it’s getting late._

_Piper- Alex you better not be dead._

 

Alex laughed as she read the many, many texts from Piper. She shook her head and pressed call. The phone rang a few times before Piper answered the phone. 

  
“ _Oh thank god you’re not dead._ ” Piper sighed in relief. 

 

“You concluded death a lot sooner then I thought you would.” Alex laughed. “I was just asleep. Sorry.”

 

“ _Asleep until two thirty?_ ”

 

“Couldn’t get much sleep last night, but at least I got some now.” 

 

“ _Right… Well should I still come by soon?_ ”

 

“Uh yeah, come by around three?”

 

“ _Alright. I’ll see you soon, bye Alex._ ”

 

Alex hung up the phone, a smile on her face. She got up, had a shower, and got dressed. She had spent quite a bit of time figuring out what she was going to wear. She decided on wearing something simple, but also something that also showed she was doing okay. 

 

As the minutes past by, and the closer Piper was to coming to pick her up, the more nervous Alex was getting; But she would never show that to Piper. She spent the next ten minutes getting herself together, and making sure she looked unbothered by the fact that she was going to see her father. 

 

* * *

 

Piper was driving the two to New Haven. The first twenty minutes of the car ride felt a little slow, and awkward. Piper didn’t really know what to say to Alex. Weather she should or even could bring up any possibilities; so she didn’t. 

 

Alex looked over to Piper, who looked fairly concentrated on driving. “Thank’s for coming.” 

 

“I’m happy i’m going with you.” Piper replied, not knowing what an appropriate response really was. 

 

They could both feel tension between each other, but they both knew why. “Sorry.” Alex said softly. 

 

“For what?”

 

“The tension…” 

 

Piper reached her hand over and took Alex’s hand and squeezed it. “Then why don’t we get rid of it?” 

 

A confused look crossed Alex’s face, but the next thing she knew Piper was turning on music. She looked for a specific disk to play, knowing that they needed some up beat music. 

 

Finally content on the CD, Piper hit play. There was a moment of silence before “Too Drunk To Fuck” by the Dead Kennedys came blasting through the speakers, throwing off both Piper and Alex. 

 

“Really Pipes?” Alex said, trying to hide just how funny she found this moment. 

 

“I forgot this was the first song!” Piper said over the loud music. “Hold on.”  

 

Alex watched as Piper changed to the next track. “I Love Rock and Roll” by Joan Jett came on next. Followed by Piper singing along. She was getting as into the music as she could while driving. Alex just laughing and staring. 

 

“Come on Alex!” Piper shouted out during a short guitar riff.  

 

It took a while, but Alex finally loosened up and started air drumming and singing along with the songs that were playing. During that car ride, Alex was too busy having fun with Piper to really stop and think, and any time she did stop and think all she thought was: Thank god Piper like’s similar music to me, and not Polly.

 

* * *

 

When they got to the venue the first thing that made Alex realize that this show her father was playing was small, was the fact that there weren’t many people there. In fact she wasn’t even sure they were the headlining act. 

 

The people working there didn’t even check their ID’s when Alex went up to get a drink. She offered Piper one, which she was going to take, but she figured that she would be driving. Being a lightweight was never something Piper loved, although it was easy to get a buzz when she wanted. 

 

The first few bands we’re just okay. Nothing to rave about. But when Death Maiden came on, everything Alex was feeling changed. She forgot about her worries and everything. She focused on the music. She focused on her father who was playing the drums amazingly well. 

 

Every now and then she would drift away from the music, just to look at Piper, who was mostly focused on Alex watching the band play. They would smile at each other, and then look back, except Piper would always look at Alex again only moments after they turned away.

 

* * *

 

Once the band had walked off the stage after a minimal amount of applause, Alex turned to Piper and said “I’m going to find my way backstage.” Piper nodded and said okay. She asked if she wanted her to come along, but Alex said no. Piper went and waited in the car, listening to music.

 

Piper waited for what seemed like along time, but it really wasn’t that long. She was sitting in the car, music not that loud, and seat pushed back when she noticed someone walking towards her car.   
  
At first she was a bit nervous, until she realized it was just Alex. Piper then realized that she hadn’t been in rather long. She started the car, and turned down the music even more. 

 

Alex opened the passenger seat door and got in, slamming the door pretty hard. Piper wanted to ask how it went, but all she heard was “Piper drive.” giving her the full realization that things may have not gone all that well. 

 

* * *

 

They hadn’t been on the road long before Piper looked over to Alex, who was staring out the window, quite obviously holding back tears. She reached over and put a hand on Alex’s thigh in a comforting way. It was the very touch of Piper that made Alex give in.   
  
She started to cry. 

 

Not a lot, but enough for Piper to want to pull over for a second. So she did. She pulled into a gas station. “Al…” Started. 

 

“Can you just please drive?”

 

“Alex.” 

 

“What?” Alex replied as she looked over to Piper, a few tears running down her cheeks. “I don’t want to talk about it, okay? So please, just drive.” 

 

Piper wanted to do something. She wanted to say something. She wanted to make Alex feel okay. But she listened to Alex and got back on to the road. 

 

Alex then took Pipers hand in her own, squeezing it. 

 

* * *

 

After a while, Alex finally started to feel okay. She had stopped crying. She stopped pretty quickly after they had left the gas station. 

 

They were almost home when Alex said something. “He commented on my rack…” She mumbled. 

 

“What?” Piper replied, not sure if she had heard properly. 

 

“He commented on my fucking rack.” Alex started laughing. 

 

Piper started to laugh as well. It had taken some time but Alex finally started talking about what had happened, after realizing just how fucking ridiculous everything had been. 

 

Alex managed to leave out the detail’s of meeting some guy name Farhi, who offered her a job. She wasn’t even sure she was going to call, so she left it out. 

 

* * *

 

They got home rather late, and instead of Piper just dropping Alex off like planned, Alex wanted her to stay with her. She didn’t feel like being alone in her apartment almost all night. 

 

They went upstairs and found something to eat. Alex was just now realizing how hungry she was. The two sat on the couch, eating their toast, and turned on the TV. It had been a fairly long and tiring day, and Alex hadn’t gotten much sleep. 

 

Alex rested her head on Piper’s should, and before she knew it she was fast asleep. Piper rested her head on Alex’s, and just continued watching some crappy TV show. 

 

* * *

 

Piper woke up startled. It took her a second to remember where she was, but after a few seconds she remembered. She looked over to the door where Diane was standing. “Shit i’m sorry, didn’t mean to way you.” 

 

“No it’s fine.” Piper replied. Alex had moved during her sleep, and now had her head resting on one of the arm rests. She was curled up, making Piper able to actually stand up. 

 

“Didn’t realize you’d be here.” Diane replied as she walked into the kitchen like she normally does. That was one of the things Piper had noticed about the two when they got home. They always went straight to the kitchen to get something. 

 

“Plans changed and I decided to stay here.” Piper stood up, everything hurting from the way she had fallen asleep. 

 

“Talking about a change of plans, this idiot who came in last night kept chaining his order. He kept changing where he wanted to sit and everything. And what made it worse wasn’t that I had to deal with him, but he gave me a ¢5 tip.” Dine rolled her eyes and sat down on a chair in the kitchen. 

 

Piper sat down at the other chair, a smile on her face. She always loved hearing about Diane’s life, and that she actually cared about talking to Piper as if she was Alex. She felt bad about how her own mother didn’t spend anytime talking or getting to know Alex. It made her feel bad. 

 

“So what did you two get up to last night?”  
  
“Not much. We went out, and came back here around 12.” 

 

“Date night huh?” 

 

“Something like that.” 

 

“Thank god Alex never really took after me with the whole dating thing… I mean, shit she use to, but she’s never made the crappy decisions that i’ve made. Not really.” 

 

“Crappy decisions?”  
  
“You know, sleeping around. Fucking the wrong guy… Falling for the wrong guy…” 

 

“Was Alex’s father one of those decisions?” Piper asked, not realizing how much of a touchy question that really was. Diane arched an eyebrow. “Sorry.” Piper mumbled. 

 

“He was the wrong guy for me, but when I met him, he made me feel so fucking special. Getting to stay in his room, almost being a part of the band. I felt special, but he turned out to be a really fucking ass.” She paused for a second. “ But I got Alex out of it. So no, it wasn’t a bad decision. It was the best one.” 

 

* * *

 

It had been a few hours of Piper and Diane talking. They had started to get to know each other, more then they had before. It felt nice.   
  
“I’ll see you later.” Piper replied as she opened the door. 

 

“Yeah, and you definitely come by the restaurant more often.” Diane replied. 

 

“I will.” Piper smiled. “Bye.”

 

* * *

 

Alex woke up to the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Soft Shock, and the smell of bacon. She felt her stomach grumble. “Didn’t think this was your kind of music.” 

 

“Never would have thought I’d like this, but Piper showed it to me. Better then I thought.” 

 

“Right.” Alex replied. This wasn’t her kind of music, but she couldn’t disagree, it was pretty catchy. 

 

“There’s cooked bacon on the counter. Egg’s in the fridge.” Diane mentioned.

 

“Awesome. How was work?”

 

“You know, the same. Got a crappy fucking tip for helping out this guy who didn’t leave for hours.” 

 

“You serious?”

 

“Yep.”

Alex paused for a second. She knew she couldn’t help out much around the house. She could occasionally help with rent, and she did a lot of the grocery shopping, but nothing else. Alex hated seeing her mother work her ass off and still be in trouble for money. She started to consider calling this guy. Maybe then she would be able to help more.

 

* * *

 

It was a fairly slow day, and Alex spent most of it alone. She sent Piper a few texts, but kept to herself. She spoke to Nicky on the phone, but she still didn’t talk to her about Farhi. She barely even spoke about what had gone down. 

 

While the two were talking it occurred to Alex that it would have made more sense for Nicky to go with her,  but she knew that going with Piper was the right choice. 

 

“Fuck.” Alex said to herself as she looked at the time. It was almost 3am. She was so tired but she kept herself up thinking. 

 

After about another half an hour of laying on her bed, earphones in, she decided to go to sleep, dreading the fact that she had school and work tomorrow. 

 

* * *

 

“Miss Vause, if you can’t stay awake during my class then you can sleep in the principals office.” Alex looked up to the front of the room where Mr. Wilson was looking straight at her. 

 

“Sorry.” Alex mumbled, sitting up. 

 

Her continued with his lesson, Alex still not paying any attention. She wasn’t even bothered by what had happened over the weekend, her sleep schedule was just so fucked that she couldn’t stay awake at that moment. 

 

“You have math next, right?” Piper asked. 

 

“Yeah. And to make things better I think I have a test.” 

 

“Good luck with that.” Larry said sarcastically from behind. He had been moved back to his seat behind the two because Mr. Wilson had already made a seating chart with him there. 

 

“Not a great time to speak.” Polly replied. Larry rolled his eyes. 

 

Things went slowly for the rest of the morning. Alex kept falling asleep, and Piper kept waking her so she wouldn’t get yelled at again. In math Alex was put at the front because she had the same teacher in grade 11, who really disapproved of how she was last year. 

 

When lunch finally came Alex made her way to a staircase that no one really knew existed. It went to the fourth floor, which was really just one room that was occasionally used for art.   
  
It was quiet. She sat down in-between sets of stairs and put her bag on the floor beside her. 

 

* * *

 

“Busy weekend I see.”

 

“I guess, yeah.” Piper replied.

 

“Haven’t seen her this tired in ages… Although I haven’t seen her in ages.” Gerard said as he looked over to Alex, who was asleep on the floor. “We sort of stopped fitting into each others lives it seems.” 

 

“You mean she stopped doing drugs in the auditorium.” 

 

“Yeah.” He laughed. “Man I miss her. Can you believe she quit? She seemed to really enjoy tech.”

 

“Thing’s seemed to be getting more complicated. Besides with you leaving soon she doesn’t have much of a point to be there.” 

 

“Guess since she fucked most of the girls there too…” Gerard paused, “Too much info?”

 

“A bit.” Piper looked away. 

 

“Please, you want another reason to be jealous.” Alex mumbled as she sat up, a small smirk on her face. “Emma’s just not enough.” 

 

“There’s just something off about her.” Piper replied. 

 

“You mean she’s a bitch.” Gerard said, laughing a bit. 

 

“That too.” 

 

“Come here.” Alex said, motioning for Piper to come over to her. 

 

Piper got up and sat beside Alex, putting her arm around her waist. She then kissed her girlfriend.

 

“Get a room.” Gerard rolled his eyes. 

 

* * *

 

Nicky was hanging out at the record store with Alex. “Piper really that jealous?”

 

“Yeah.” 

 

“I mean… I guess I could see why.” Nicky eyed Emma who was sitting on a chair reading some book. 

 

“She’s hot, but i’m not interested.” Alex said as she continued sorting through CD’s. 

 

It was silent for a while.  

 

“Hey… Can I talk to you?” Alex said quietly. 

 

“Yeah sure.” Nicky replied. 

  
“It’s uh…. About this guy who I met… At my dad’s concert-“ She paused, noticing Nicky’s change in facial expressions. “And no it’s not what you think.” 

 

“Okay good.” 

 

“He offered me a job.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so i really wanted Alex meeting her father to stay how it was in the show... Because honestly, it's best that way. Just so you all know there will actually be no Farhi (that how you spell it?) drama. So no worries about that.


	30. Halloween Pt1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! So i've been pretty busy with school, and it's getting really hard for me to keep this story updated, but i'm not close to finishing this story yet... So i will try my best for a weekly post, though I can not promise anything.   
> This was also supposed to be posted earlier, but either way i hope you enjoy it!

 

"Shit Vause..." Nicky paused for a moment, taking in all that Alex had just told her, "you thinking about it?"

 

"Actually, yeah."

 

"Well... I won't tell you to not do it, because honestly you see like you'd be fucking brilliant at at, but just think it through. It's highly illegal shit."

 

"It's not the illegal part that's putting me off it honestly. I wouldn't get caught."

 

"That sure about it, huh?"

 

"Okay there's a chance, but I'll be pretty fucking careful about it."

 

"Sounds like you've already made up your decision on taking that job."

 

"Yeah..."

 

....

 

...

 

* * *

 

"So how was your weekend?"

 

"It was fine. Hung out with Alex... You know, the usual. You?"

 

"Swamped with work, but managed to find George for a little... Stress relief."

 

"George? Is this the guy who replaced Pete?" 

 

"He didn't replace Pete... I just got tired of having to be around Larry..."

 

"What a friend you are. Switching guys to fuck so you don't have to be around my ex."

 

Polly hit Piper on the arm playfully, before starting to laugh. "I'm such a great friend."

 

It was silent for a while. The two of them were at Polly's house outside on her deck drinking hot cocoa. They both had a lot of work, but they figured they'd do it later and just talk for the moment. 

 

"Hey" Polly started to say, "I was thinking about applying to UCLA."

 

"Really?"

 

"Yeah, I want to get away from here, and although it's not my top school, it'll be a change."

 

"Northampton would be a change."

 

"Pipe, you know I love you, and you know how much I'd love to have the college experience with you... I didn't have anything else to say. Northampton with you sounds pretty good."

 

"You are such a fucking weirdo." Piper laughed as she stood up and walked inside. 

 

* * *

 

_Alex- hey, come outside of your class._

 

_Piper- I’ve ditched too many classes._

 

_Alex- yeah fine. But honestly, come out. I wont steal you for too long._

 

Piper raised her hand to ask if she could go to the washroom. She walked out of the room to find Alex leaning against the lockers, a camera in hand. “Hey” she smiled.

 

“Hey” Alex held up the camera to her face and pressed the shutter button.

 

Pipers smiled faded into a very unamused look, “really?”

 

“My teacher sent us out to take pictures so… i’m taking pictures.” Alex stood up straight and the two started walking down the hall. She snapped another picture of Piper.

 

“Can I see that?” Piper asked.

 

“What, so you can take pictures of me? Hell no.” 

 

“I have a phone you know. I could just use that to take a picture of you.” 

 

Alex let out a small laugh, “You could, but i don't think you’re thank fast.” 

 

The two of them walked up a staircase and sat at the top of them, sun shining in through the window. Alex had her arm around Piper, and she kissed her on the cheek. 

 

“You good to have lunch with Polly and I today?”

 

“Sure…” 

 

“You don’t have to if you don’t want… I just thought-“

 

“No Pipes, I want to.” 

 

“Okay, cool.” Piper smiled. Alex then stood up and looked out of the window. Piper could tell she was thinking about something; something important. But she thought maybe since what had happened over the weekend, she shouldn’t ask. Instead she picked up the camera Alex had left on the flood. She pointed it towards her and took a picture. 

 

Alex turned around startled before she realized what Piper had done. “Damn” she smirked,  “let’s just hope you have a good eye.” 

 

“Can’t you just delete the picture?”

 

“It’s a film camera dumbass.” She sat back down beside Piper and kissed her.

 

“Oh.” 

 

…

 

“Polly was thinking about having a horror movie marathon… You want to come?”

 

“Depends. Is her taste in horror movies as bad as her taste in music?”

 

Piper started to laugh, but caught herself. She didn’t want to be mean to Polly. “She was talking about Friday the 13th. She suggested Halloween because i’d be there.”

 

“Sound’s fun.” 

 

“So you in?”

 

“If you’re there, then of course.”

 

* * *

 

"Okay so I know I said we should all come over to my place on Halloween for a horror movie marathon-"

 

"Oh god Pol, what genius idea do you have now?"

 

"There's supposed to be some wicked party happening and we have to go to."

 

"Guess we could be doing something worse... I'm in." Piper agreed and looked over to Alex, "you in?"

 

"Yeah sure." Alex replied unenthusiastically. 

 

"It'll be fun Alex. Last time was fun, right Pipe?"

 

"We had fun, yeah. Okay well now I'm excited- wait. We don't have to dress up, do we?" 

 

"I'm not. Don't think anyone really will. Some people may not wear much but..."

 

"Just please tell me it's not at that guys house again... Pete." Alex said. 

 

"Thankfully it's not. That would be awkward.... Although Pete and Larry will probably be there... Seeing as Larry invited me..." Polly looked over to Piper, and the second she heard the name Larry her eyes widened. 

 

"You are kidding, right?"

 

"I'd love to say I was... Sorry Pipe."

 

"When you say he invited you... You mean?"

 

“Not a date… Because I got the impression that he was taking someone else…” 

 

“What made you think that?”

 

“The fact that he said he was taking someone else… Apparently his parents told him he was going out on a date with some girl, and he was planning on taking her to this party because he didn’t want to actually go out with someone he didn’t know.” 

 

“Smart.” Alex added.

 

“Who’s he taking?” Piper asked, sounding more curious and eager to know then she intended. Alex shot her a look, but never actually said anything. Reading her expression Piper then added, “Sorry.” 

 

“Didn’t tell me. And I didn’t really ask.” 

 

“That’s a first.” Piper joked.

 

“I know right? It took everything I had not to snoop.” Polly replied proudly.

 

* * *

 

Alex was sitting on the roof, a cigarette in hand. As she blew out the smoke into the cool air, she heard someone open the door and walk out. 

 

“Care if I join you?” Nicky asked as she sat down beside her friend. 

 

“Thought you were out with Lorna.” 

 

“I was going to but she had some sort of family emergency, giving me sometime to spend with you.” Nicky then took out a pack of cigarettes, took one and put it in her mouth. “You have a lighter?”

 

“Here.” Alex handed over a white lighter. “Hey, what are you doing on Halloween?”

 

“I assumed I was going to be with you. Do our normal thing. Why? Got a hot date or something?” Nicky joked and hit her friend lightly on the arm. 

 

“Polly wants to go to this party, and Piper and I are going. Thought you’d like to come with?”

 

“A party? Hell yeah i’d like to go. The parties that the people at your school throw are ten times better then the ones at mine. I’m fucking in.” 

 

“Thank god.” Alex sighed. 

 

“You not up for it huh?”

 

“Not exactly. Ever since I met my father I haven’t really been up for much.” 

 

“You okay?”

 

“Honestly, I don’t know.” Alex looked her friend straight in the eyes. Nicky could see just how honest Alex was being. She could see it in her eyes. 

 

* * *

 

“So Alex is picking us up here?” 

 

“Yep.” Piper said as she looked at herself in the mirror. She was wear a tight black dress, and red lipstick. She curled her hair which didn’t go as planned. It turned out more wavy then wanted, but it ended up looking pretty good. 

 

“Okay, awesome.” 

 

“She should be here soon. And we’re meeting Nicky and Lorna at the party.” 

 

“I can’t wait until we’re in college.” 

 

“Why?”

 

“Because this will be our weekends! Getting dressed up and going out. It’ll be fucking awesome.” 

 

Before Piper could reply the doorbell rang. The two of them put on finishing touches to their makeup. Piper opened the door. “Shit.” Alex said as she saw her. “Didn’t realize we were going all out for this.” 

 

Alex was wearing nice black jeans, a button up black shirt, and her old used leather jacket. “You look hot.” Piper said as she looked her girlfriend up and down. 

 

All Alex did was smile and kiss her. 

 

“Alright let’s go!” Polly said as she shooed the two of them outside and closed the door behind them. 

 

“Isn’t that Nicky’s car?” Piper asked as they walked towards the car.

 

“Yeah. I didn’t have a car so Nicky let me use hers. They’re taking Lorna’s.” 

 

The three of them got into the car and started driving. “So Polly, where are we going?”

 

* * *

 

After a twenty minute drive they finally arrived at the party. The neighbourhood was fairly quiet for Halloween, but most of the kids went trick or treating a few streets over. They got out of the car and walked inside. 

 

Alex was starting to really regret saying she would come. The first thing she did was go and find Nicky who she knew had brought alcohol. 

 

“Fuck finally! There you are!” Alex said as she approached Nicky. 

 

“Hey Alex! Look who we found!” Nicky said, a grin on her face. She was pointing to the girl beside her. Emma. 

 

“Emma, what are you doing here?” Alex asked confused. 

 

“Oh I’m on some date with this guy. I mean, it’s not really a date since neither of us actually want to be here with each other, but whatever.”

 

“Right.” Alex eyed her weirdly and nodded her head. 

 

“here yo go.” A guy said as he handed Emma a cup. “Oh shit.” 

 

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding.” Alex said as she rolled her eyes. Not only did Alex not  care for Emma to be there, the only reason she was because she was the girl Larry was taking. 

 

“Fuck.” Alex sighed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... this'll be interesting...  
> don't worry its not larry you should be thinking about...


	31. Halloween Pt2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so... here's part 2! Enjoy!

 

Piper and Polly made their way through the crowd of people. The living room was the busiest, though it was actually more of a party. Every single one they went to at Petes was not as nicely organized.

"Where'd Alex go?" Polly asked as she turned to look at Piper.

"She went to go find Nicky and Lorna."

The music also wasn't horribly loud. Loud enough that people could dance and have fun, but you could also hear what people were saying.

"I think I see her and Nicky." Piper started walking towards the two. As she approached the two she heard a loud sigh and Alex say "Fuck"

When Alex turned around to walk away, Piper saw Larry. And Emma. "What the hell are they doing here? What the hell is  _she_  doing here?"

"She's on a date with your ex." Alex replied as she walked over to Piper.

"You're kidding right?"

"Wish I was." Alex took the drink out of Nicky's hand and grabbed Piper. "C'mon lets go somewhere else."

Piper followed Alex. She wanted to talk to Nicky, but she'd rather save herself from being around the two people she disliked the most then stay and talk to her friend. They moved downstairs where some other people were just sitting around. All of them just in their own little group drinking and talking.

Alex held up the cup in her hand to her mouth and took a big sip of whatever Nicky was drinking. She then offered it to Piper who took a small sip. "This is awkward."

"Yeah?"

"I mean, the two people you don't want to see are here… I'd think that'd be awkward."

"Yeah, but we don't have to talk to them. Right?"

* * *

The party had started to clear out fairly early. Most people had heard about an even bigger party, so they all just left. Though there were still quite a few still around. If it weren't for the fact that everyone had left all their alcohol their, Alex probably would have left.

People were either in the basement or in the living-room. Nicky and Lorna were in the basement getting high with a few other people, while Alex, Piper, and Polly were in the living-room drinking and talking to each other.

"I'll be back, okay?" Alex said as she stood up slowly. She had had a lot to drink, but she was still able to walk on her own.

"Sure." Piper replied, shooting Alex a small smile.

Alex stepped out of the front door and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. She had almost quit, but ever since she met her father she had been feeling extremely stressed. Smoking kept the stress to a minimum.

"Thought you didn't smoke." A voice said from behind her.

"I never said that." Alex said as she turned around. "Thought you left with Larry."

"Nah. I think he went home or something. I'm just staying for the free booz." Emma sat down on the steps leading up to the house. Alex walked down to the bottom step and sat down.

"It's great if you want to keep your mind off of stuff…"

"Smoking?"

"No, getting drunk."

"Right." Emma replied. "Anything you want to get off your chest?"

"You wanna hand over your drink?"

"Here." Emma handed over her beer and Alex took it. She took a generous swig before handing it back and sitting beside her.

"I met my father like, a week ago." Alex said as put the cigarette up to her mouth.

"The Death Maiden guy?"

Alex looked at her curiously. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

"I've heard you and your girlfriend talk about him. As much as you two want to ignore me, i'm still there."

"Right." Alex said with more attitude then intended.

"Anyway, your father. What, He a fucking millionaire or some douchbag."

"He was a fucking drug addict douchbage"

"And?"

"And I was really fucking pissed off!" Alex stood up, "But I was more pissed off at myself for even going, knowing I was going to be disappointed by him."

"Chill dude, thought you would have figured that with the fact he wasn't even in your life." Emma replied.

"Yeah well no, I didn't fucking think that. I'm just some fucking naive girl who's been looking up to some lowlife drug addict who can't even fucking fill a basement."

"Shit."

"You're really fucking great to talk to." Alex rolled her eyes.

"Look dude, i'm sorry your father is some piece of shit. And you don't seem like some naive girl. Fuck I mean, you're too smart for most people-"

"And now suddenly you know exactly who I am."

"Look, i'm here to listen, okay?" Emma stood up and walked down and stood on the last step, making them almost the same height. "Just, chill out."

Alex stared into her eyes for a second before turned around and pacing. "You don't even know what's actually bothering me."

"Then what is?"

"Shit…" Alex started, "I met this guy, and he offered me a job…"

"I'm flattered you'd think you'd miss working with me." Emma joked.

"Ha ha… Anyway, it's not the most legal thing… In fact if I were to get caught i'd be looking at some serious time."

"Fuck."

"And i'm honestly thinking about it."

It was silent for a while, Alex pacing around while Emma just stood there watching her.

"That's not what'd bugging you, is it?"

"No, it's not… I don't know how to tell Piper, because I know she wouldn't want me doing it."

"Didn't realize you needed your girlfriends permission." Emma said sarcastically.

"I'm not going to take some job with out talking to her, because…" Alex paused, "Because I love her, and honestly, I want to have a life with her, but this will ruin things."

"Oh…" Emma started, "Well, what if she's cool with it?"

"Do you even know her?"

"Nope. Never spoken more then five words to her."

"Exactly. She wouldn't be okay with…. Piper come's from some stuck up family who only like's people with money. I really love her, but this whole opinion of drugs is something that runs in their family."

"Crap."

"I just… I don't know what to fucking do." Alex stopped pacing and looked over to Emma, who had a sympathetic look on her face. "I can't fucking tell Piper."

Emma reached out her hand and took Alex's. It was meant to be for comfort, but it probably would have looked like it meant more then it did.

"What can't you tell me?" Piper said. Alex looked away from Emma to the front door where Piper was standing. Emma then turned around, a startled look on her face, and let go of Alex's hand.

"Shit, Piper." Alex started walking up towards her. Piper just turned around and walked inside. By the time Alex got inside, she had no idea where Piper had gone.

"Polly, do you know where Piper went?"

"No, why?"

"She just saw something that she took the wrong way. I need to talk to her."

"What the fuck did she see?" Polly asked as she stood up.

"I think she thought Emma and I we're doing something, but we really weren't. We were just talking." Alex replied.

Polly gave her a weird look before saying, "I'm not your biggest fan Alex. Don't lie and make it worse."

"She's not lying. We were honestly just talking." Emma added.

"You talking about the blonde girl?" This one guy asked loudly.

"Yeah." Alex nodded.

"Think she went upstairs to the bathroom."

Alex turned around and quickly headed up the stairs to the bathroom. "Piper?" She knocked on the bathroom door.

"Go away." Piper replied.

"Piper please, nothing was going on!"

"Yeah we'll that's not what I heard or saw."

"Can you open the door please?"

"Why? So you can use your Alex Vause super power and make me forgive you just like that? Because i'm not going to."

A smile appeared on Alex's face for a second, but then disappeared. "Pipes, please. I want to talk."

Just then Nicky, Emma, Lorna, and Polly came up behind her. "Alex maybe you should just leave her alone." Polly said.

"Jesus fuck, Piper. I can explain!" Alex then said.

"Hey, Pipe? You want to let me in?" Polly asked.

"Fine. But just you." Piper unlocked the door. Polly was about to open the door when Emma got to it first. She opened the door, slid in, and then closed it behind her and locked the door.

"What the hell?" Piper yelled. "Get out!"

Emma was blocking the door, so Piper couldn't get her out. "Piper we need to talk."

Piper rolled her eyes and walked over to the floor where she was sitting before. "What do you want to say to me,  _Emma._ "

"Nothing happened." Emma said as she walked over and sat in front of Piper.

"Sure."

"No i'm serious. I know you don't like me, and hey, if someone as hot as myself was flirting my boyfriend or girlfriend, i'd be pretty fucking pissed at them too."

"Thanks for the help."

"I'm not done." Emma started, "Alex love's  _you_. She would never cheat on you, and nothing has ever happened between us. Alex was just talking to me."

"Then what doesn't she want me to know?"

"I'm not allowed to tell you. It's her thing to tell. But she's pretty upset. And she wants to tell you, but she just doesn't know how."

"So what, i'm making up what I saw?"

"Yeah. I was just trying to comfort her."

"Sorry."

"For what?"

"For my opinion about you. It's still not a great opinion, but you're nicer then I thought."

"Don't apologize to me. You have a girlfriend who loves you right outside this room… Who i think will apologize to you more times then I think she'd like."

"Parts of me feel like she would be someone who would cheat… But not just on anyone. I feel like she'd cheat on me because… I cheated on her once…"

"You're kidding, right?"

"Wish I was…"

"Shit."

"Do you think she would? Cheat on me, that is."

"Alex? Fuck no. She's so in love with you. And although this may be confidential, but that girl wants to have a life with you."

Piper just started straight ahead at Emma, because that didn't sound like Alex. She had never been one to think of the future. In fact Alex had always hated thinking about the future. She always just sort of went with the flow of life, and whatever happened, happened.

"Really?" A small smile crossed her face.

"Didn't really peg her for a romantic, but guess I don't really know either of you."

It was silent for a while, the two of them just sitting on the floor of the bathroom.

There was a knock on the door, and then Alex's voice, "Pipes?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

"Me too." Piper got up and walked over to the door and unlocked the door. Alex was sitting on the floor. She looked up at Piper with an apologetic smile on her face. Neither of them said anything. Piper knelt down and kissed Alex.

Alex smiled and pulled Piper closer to her.

"I don't care what you don't want to tell me." She said as she pulled away. "I mean, of course I care, but it's not like I cant wait for you to tell me."

"I know Pipes, and I will tell you. I just don't know how to."

"I could tell her." Emma added in jokingly.

"Right." Alex replied. "I think i'll do it."

"Okay if you want me to be okay with it then you have to shut up about it."

"Sorry." Alex kissed Piper again.

"Hey uh, guys, wanna head out? It' s pretty late." Nicky said as she walked up the stairs.

"Yeah okay. You need a ride home?" Alex asked as she stood up.

"Nah i'm good." Emma replied as she walked passed Piper and Alex. "You two make a pretty hot couple, though I still think Alex and I would look even hotter together."

"Really?" Alex arched an eyebrow.

"What, too soon?" Emma teased.

"You know, I like this girl Vause." Nicky laughed.

"Careful Nichols." Alex replied.

"I'll see you at work on Monday." Emma said as she started to walk down the stairs.

"What, am I not allowed to like a girl?" Nicky then asked.

Alex laughed and said, "Sure."

Nicky then rolled her eyes at the comment and started heading down the stairs. Piper and Alex followed. Piper looked around for Polly, and found her outside of the house. "you okay?"

Polly turned around and smiled, "Yeah I was just taking to Emma on her way out."

"Oh."

"You know Pipe, i'm happy you're with someone like Alex."

"And by that you mean?"

Polly rolled her eyes, "I like Alex, okay? I mean, she's a fucking bitch, but she's not Emma."

"Was that really that hard to say?" Alex said as she walked up behind the two.

"It really was." Polly replied.

The three of them made their way to Nicky's car. Alex drove Polly home first, and then drove Piper home. "You sure you can't stay over?"

"Sorry Pipes, maybe next time." Alex said as she kissed Piper.

"You suck."

"I know." Alex let out a small laugh. "Goodnight Piper."

"Goodnight Alex."

Alex started heading back towards the car, when Piper called out her name. She turned around to look at Piper, "Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, Pipes." Alex smiled.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hm. fun end right? Was that what you expected? curious on your thoughts!


	32. Can we talk?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!!! I am so so so sorry it's taken a while to update! I haven't had a lot of time, and with that being said I am actually going to be ending this fic really soon! There will only be 35 chapters, so there's only three left!   
> (I also meant to post this earlier but got too caught up in all that Carmilla stuff... You understand though, right?)  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy. I know its short, but you won't have to wait weeks for an update this time!!!

Alex re-stocked the shelves with new CD’s and vinyl’s while Emma sat in a swivel chair and spun around. “So you tell Piper yet?”

 

“Nope.” 

 

“It’s been a fucking week! Isn’t she dying to know? I would be dying to know.”

 

“Yeah well, I don’t know what to say.” 

 

“Right. Well i’m always up for telling her.” 

 

“Look, as great as that would be, it’s not the kind of thing you want to hear from someone else.” 

 

It was silent for a while long, the only sound was the sound of CD cases hitting each other. Alex then looked up and over to Emma, who was spinning. “I still have no idea why I even fucking told you.”

 

“It’s easier to tell your problems to someone you don’t know. You don’t care about their opinion of you that way.”   
  
Alex nodded her head, “sounds about right.” 

 

“Is she coming here later?”

 

“Who, Piper? No, she’s hanging out with Polly. Apparently going out on a Friday is more fun then being at a record store.” Alex joked. 

 

“Smart.” 

 

“Yeah.” 

 

“So you have any plans for the weekend?”

 

“Nope, mostly just studying. I have so many fucking tests coming up this week.” 

 

“What are you taking?”

 

“Uh, nothing important… Other then bio and math…” 

 

“Shit.” 

 

Alex leaned back and sighed, “Why the fuck did I ever take biology. It’s so unnecessary.” 

 

“Yeah but i mean, the whole going to collage thing seems pretty important to all you guys.” 

 

“It sure as hell may be for other people, but not me.” 

 

“Right, you’re doing the whole drug dealer thing instead.” 

 

“I wouldn’t be a dealer. And also I still don’t know. I keep going back and forth so…” 

 

“Maybe telling Piper would help with that decision…” 

 

“Shut up.” 

 

“Make me.” Emma teased as she stopped spinning and looked over to Alex, a smirk on her face.

 

Alex just rolled her eyes. She was normally up for some fun flirting, especially since Emma was so good at it, but she was too stressed; and ever since last week she was more cautious.

 

“So, you ever see that guy again?”

 

“You mean your girlfriends ex? Nope.”

 

“Surprising.” 

 

“What, that I went out with him? Or that I never saw him again?”

 

“Both.” 

 

“Right, well that dude is still totally hung up over Piper. It’s kind of sad, but still entertaining as hell to know about.” 

 

“What did he even tell you?”

 

“He told me about how he was in love with Piper, and that she actually left you for him, and that you then ended up stealing her back.” 

 

“You’re kidding right?”

 

“Wish I was, Vause.” Emma was finding it hard not to burst out in laughter. “I couldn’t believe him. All that just doesn’t seem like you.” 

 

“What do you think happened then?” Alex found the story entertaining, but also annoyed at how Larry was probably saying all these things to other people. 

 

“I think… You broke her heart, which then she reciprocated by doing something with Larry. Shit got real, and then Piper found herself with that lame-ass guy.” 

 

“You think I stole her back?”

 

“You don’t need to steal anyone away from someone else. They all just walk right up to you willingly.” 

 

“True.” Alex nodded her head. 

 

“You are such a cocky ass sometimes.”

 

“Coming from you.”

 

“Fine, you win.” Emma rolled her eyes.

 

* * *

 

“I’m not going to do it.” 

 

“Not going to do what?” Nicky asked curiously. 

 

“I’m not going to take the job.” 

 

“Really? Last time I heard you were all over it.” 

 

“Yeah, but it’s not what I want. I could find a hundred other jobs that are better and less illegal.” 

 

“Thought that didn’t matter to you.” 

 

“it didn’t… I just.. Think maybe I shouldn’t. Because of my mom,.. and Piper.” 

 

“Right. Well, who are you going to tell first?”

 

Alex sighed dramatically and looked over to her friend, “Do i still have to tell them?”

 

“Well Piper is sort of waiting… You can’t just never tell her now.” 

 

“Fuck. Okay, but I don’t think I can tell my mom.”   
  
“But don’t you tell her everything?”

“Shut up. This is different.” 

 

 

“Right.”

 

…

…

  
“Emma coming back from her break soon?”

 

“Yep, probably.” 

 

“Awesome, then I think i’m going to head out.” 

 

“Really?” Alex sighed, “You haven’t been here long.” 

 

“Yep, but I have a date with Lorna, so i’ll see you later loser.” Nicky hopped off of the counter and headed out the door. 

 

Alex sat down in the swivel chair and started spinning. The thing she like about working here was that almost no one ever came, but enough that the store could still survive. Although the pay still wasn’t great, it was enough for now. 

 

“Your friends scary.” Emma said as she walked inside. 

 

“What’d she do now?”

 

“I was on my way back and she jumped out from and alley scaring me to death.” 

 

“Didn’t know you got scared easily.” 

 

“I… don’t.” Emma replied as she walked over to Alex. “You spoken to Piper?”

 

“Within the little while that you were gone? Nope.” 

 

“Okay, well she’s on her way here.” 

 

“Wait, how do you know?” Alex stood up. 

 

“I saw her. I yelled at her across the street and she yelled back ‘i’m coming by to see Alex later’ or something. So get ready bud, time to tell her.” 

 

Alex sat back down and stared straight in front of her. She knew she actually didn’t have to tell Piper about anything yet, but Nicky was right, Piper was waiting to know.

 

About fifteen minutes went by before Piper walked inside with Polly. “Alex, hey!” Piper walked over to Alex and kissed her on the cheek. 

 

“Hey.” Alex replied nervously. “Can we talk?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys think!


	33. You aren't seriously thinking about this, are you?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... Here's that talk that Alex has been meaning to have for a while now... Enjoy!

 

The words left Alex like you a car on a gravel road: bumpy and hard, but still making it’s way. Piper listened, not fully understanding what it was Alex was even trying to tell her. It made no sense, because what harm could a job from someone who her father was working with? Wouldn’t it just be some music gig? Couldn’t that be amazing for Alex?

 

Alex watched Piper’s facial expressions as the words left her mouth. She could tell Piper wasn’t getting it. She was avoiding using the actual words. In fact, she didn’t even say the word illegal. 

 

“Alex.” Piper said. Alex looked straight forward into her eyes, confused. “What exactly are you trying to tell me?” 

 

“A drug cartel.” 

 

“What?” Piper still didn’t understand, but the words ‘drug cartel’ made her start to laugh.

 

“I’m thinking about taking this job… with the drug cartel.” 

 

“You’re fucking joking right?”

 

Alex just shrugged and looked to the floor. 

 

“Alex, you aren’t seriously thinking about this, are you?”

 

“Piper…” 

 

“No. No you can’t.” 

 

“Well I will if i fucking want to.” Alex shot back. She reverted back into an eight year old. Saying that she will do what she wants. 

 

“Fine.” 

 

“Fine?” Alex said loudly, “that’s all you have to fucking say?”

 

“Well what the hell do you want me to say!?” Piper replied, “That i’m going to be _okay_ with you running off with god knows who, doing illegal shit, possibly getting caught?”

 

“I’m not going to get fucking caught.” 

 

“How can you be so sure?”

 

“I just know.” 

 

“Alex, you’re acting as if you’ve already accepted the job.” 

 

….

 

“Alex?”

 

….

 

….

 

…

 

“No.”

 

…

 

“Okay.” Piper whispered. 

 

“Okay what?”

 

“I don’t know. Just… Okay.” 

 

….

 

……

 

…….

 

The two just stood and stared at each other in the eyes. Alex couldn’t tell what Piper was thinking. There was a lot of emotions in her eyes; none of them happy. 

 

“This could be good you know. Not just for me, but for you too. And for my mom. I could finally get her out of debt, and fuck maybe get her to quit at least two of her jobs. Maybe all of them if I'm lucky.” 

 

Piper didn’t reply. 

 

“I was having a lot of doubt about it…”

 

“Because you know it’s wrong.” 

 

“No… Because I knew you wouldn’t want it. But the more I think about it, the more i realize that this isn’t about you and what you want. Its about me.” 

 

“Then just fucking take the job.” Piper rolled her eyes and sat down on the sidewalk. It was cold out, and the last thing she felt like doing was staying in the freezing cold; but she couldn’t leave. She knew she couldn’t.

 

“Pipes…” Alex started, but her phone started to ring. She picked it up and walked further away from Piper, “Hello?”

 

“Hey, Alex. It’s Fahri. Can you talk?”

 

“Not a great time.”

 

“Alright, well I really need to know what your decision is. We’re lacking in mules and I’m now desperate for your help.”

 

“Shit…”

 

“Now or never.” 

 

“Uh…” Alex looked over to Piper who was still sitting on the ground. “Yes.” 

 

“Perfect. Now, I need you to do a job for me.”

 

* * *

 

About five minutes went by and Alex walked over to Piper. “Sorry that was uh… Fahri.”

 

“Did you take it? The job?”

 

Alex opened her mouth but no words came out, so she just shook her head no.

 

* * *

 

It was late and Alex didn’t want to go home. She didn’t want to be anywhere. Not anymore. She couldn’t believe she told Piper that she didn’t take the job. 

 

She lied. 

 

And why? Alex still doesn’t know. She doesn’t know why she made a choice that will inevitably fuck up their entire relationship. This had to have been the biggest mistake of her life.

 

She had finished with recruiting a new mule, and Fahri was happy. Thought it was way too early for any real judgment calls, Alex could tell that he already liked her a lot. 

 

And in fact, she didn’t actually mind the job. It allowed her to be out and socialize. She could be in a position of power and work her charm all for a job. This was something she had always wanted; It just turns out it comes with a highly illegal job. 

 

“Fuck” she sighed as she walked through a park. 

 

* * *

 

 

About a month went by. Alex was focusing more on her job then she was at school. Piper had picked up on a few things, though she really didn’t notice much. At least that’s what Alex thought. 

 

Alex had quit her job at the record store. She didn’t need to work there anymore. The only person who knew that she had actually accepted the job was Emma. Not even Nicky knew. 

 

The only reason Emma knew was so that Piper could keep thinking that the two still worked together. Alex honestly hated keeping this secret, but she didn’t know how to tell Piper, and she still doesn’t. 

 

* * *

 

“You good to hangout tonight?”

 

“Sure, if you don’t mind me studying. I really have to study.” 

 

“Okay, well I’ll see you at your place later.” 

 

That was another thing. Piper was consumed in her schoolwork. In fact, anytime you saw her she would have some form of work in her hand. 

 

“You going to be studying?”

 

“Sure.” Piper replied as the two continued to walk down the hall. 

 

“Do you know what i’m saying?”

 

“Sure, i just have to study.” 

 

“Okay… uh. Polly and I fucked last night.”

 

“Cool.” 

 

“I got into college.” 

 

“Great.” 

 

“I accepted the job offer.” 

 

“That’s nice Alex. Now i really need to study.” Just then Piper turned into her class, leaving Alex alone in an almost empty hall. 

 

She didn’t know if Piper heard her. If she cared. If if she really was just lost in her studying. All she knew was that at some point she really would have to tell her. 

 

“What’re you thinking about?” 

 

“What?” Alex replied startled. She turned around to see Gerard standing behind her. 

 

“Nothing.” 

 

“You sure?”

 

“Yeah…. You excited?”

 

“For what?” Gerard laughed. 

 

“Getting out of high school early.” 

 

“Oh… Hell yeah. And also no. I’m ready to move on with my life, but it’s also just so… scary.  
  
Why?”

 

“Do you think that when you leave… All of your friends will stop fitting in your life?”

 

“Yeah. I mean, not everyone. But some people.” 

 

“Including me?”

 

“Especially you, Alex. I mean, you’re amazing but you’re going places. Place’s a lot better and bigger.” 

 

Alex started to smile. But that smile faded when she realized that maybe her and Piper wont continue to fit in each others lives. That maybe Piper would leave her behind when she goes off to collage. 

Or that maybe she would leave first. Maybe she would leave so she wouldn’t have to deal with the pain of being left behind. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okayokay... I know... I know... but don't worry. There's just a tiny bit more "angst" before the end of this fic. 
> 
> But hey, maybe Piper won't get all... angry... who knows?


	34. Okay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know i know Alex wasn't going to take the job... but sometimes in the heat of the moment you do something you didn't think you would do. Anyways i guess it's time to find out what will happen about that decision!

Alex met Piper outside of her class at the end of the day. The two of them walked to Pipers locker. Alex waited while she put her textbooks and binders inside. “How was art?”

 

“Good, though it would have been better if you were there”

 

“I think sleeping on the school fun seems more me. Not… Sculpting pigs or whatever the fuck you guys are doing.”

 

“We’re painting sculptures of pigs…”

 

“Yeah, a skill I will not need later in life.”

 

“really? Because I thought it was your dream to paint pigs in a… cave…” 

 

“A cave?” Alex arched a brow.

 

“I’m painting my pig in a cave.” 

 

“What the fuck is that class.”

 

“Entertaining.”

 

“Right.” Alex looked down at her phone:

 

_Nicky- You working tonight?_

 

Thankfully Fahri didn’t need her help this weekend. They had all the mules they needed. For now at least. 

 

_Alex- Nope._

 

Though, she didn’t really know why she had to tell Nicky yes or no based off of her actual job. She just did. 

 

“You ready to go?”  
  
“Yeah.”

 

* * *

 

It was silent. Alex lay on Piper’s bed as Piper sat at her desk, reading her textbook. There was a faint sound of music that started playing. “God I hate this song.” Alex said. 

 

“Cal’s been playing it non-stop.”

 

“He’s a cool kid, but man I wish he had better taste in music.”

 

“Yeah.” 

 

…..

 

…….

 

……….

 

“Dammit.” 

 

“What?” Alex sat up, looking over to Piper. 

 

“Pen leak.” 

 

“Shit, i’ll go get some paper towels.”

 

“Thanks.” Piper replied as she stood up, ink all over her shirt. She took off her shirt, and put it in her laundry bin. Alex walked in, holding a role of paper towel. She closed the door before looking up to see Piper staring there, shirtless. Alex then arched a brow and smirked. 

 

“Shut up.” Piper smiled. 

 

“I didn’t say anything.” Alex walked over to her, and pulled her close before kissing her. 

 

“I know what you were thinking.” 

 

“Do you?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Alex continued to smirk, and then let go of Piper to clean up the mess. 

 

* * *

 

“So… What’s the point of this?”

 

“Does there have to be a point?”

“Uh, yes. This movie sucks. It’s not even scary.” Cal threw a piece of popcorn at the tv screen. 

 

“I find it interesting.” Piper replied. 

 

“Thank you. Now talk some sense into your brother.” 

 

“Okay.” Cal paused the movie and sat up, “They’re trapped in a fucking cube. What next? Nothing. They’re just going to wonder around lost, and everyone dies from those traps.” 

 

“Seriously? This movie is so… Fucking genius. It’s about the psychology of it all.” Alex reached for the remote, and pressed play. 

 

Cal sighed and sat back down. “Its a movie called Cube… pretty two dimensional…” he muttered to himself.

 

The three of them continued to watch the movie.

* * *

 

“Okay, you say you never get scared… Right?”

 

“What about it?” Alex replied. 

 

“I just downloaded this game… Five Nights at Freddy’s.” Piper said as she sat closer to Alex with her laptop. 

 

“Seriously? That game’s not that scary.” 

 

“You’ve played it before?”  
  
“Nope, don’t have too to know it’s not that scary.”

 

“Let’s play it one time then.” 

 

“Fine” Alex sighed, as Piper handed her the laptop, “Really?”

 

“I’m sure as hell not playing that.” Piper got up and turned the light off. Through the light of the computer she could see Alex give a look of ‘you dork.’

 

“Alright, let’s do this then.” Alex said as she pressed ‘New Game.’

 

At first nothing happened. It was fairly calm, Alex was getting a bit bored, Piper trying not to show how scared she was by the suspense.

 

 “Wait, where’d the that one guy go?”

 

“What? He’s right- Shit.” Alex replied as she started checking all the cameras. “I cant fucking see him. Fuck.” 

 

Alex continued to do as she normally did, more aware of her surroundings. It wasn’t long until she checked the door on the left. The blue bear was staring right in there. Startled, Alex didn’t get to the door in time. Since she had never played it, the next time she left the security camera screen, it jumped right at her, startling the two of them. 

 

Piper yelped as Alex shut her eyes and let out a small gasp, followed by “jesus fuck.” 

 

“See? Scary.” Pipe replied as they both started to calm down.  

 

“Fine, you were right.” Alex said as she leaned in a kissed Piper.  
  
Piper melted into the kiss. Feeling Alex’s smile on her lips just made her melt. How was it possible that this girl loved her so much? Piper couldn’t put her finger on it, but she didn’t care. As long as she had Alex. 

 

* * *

 

As Alex lay asleep in Piper’s bed, Piper was awake. More studying. She had some very big tests coming up, and she needed to study. But somewhere in her mind she knew that wasn’t why she was awake.  
  
It was because she heard what Alex said. 

 

_I accepted the job offer._

 

Had she really said it? Did she mean it? Piper didn’t know. At least that’s what she kept telling herself, because she did. She did know. 

 

Alex had accepted the job offer, and Piper just didn’t know how to handle that information.

 

Maybe it was because Piper knew she was going to go off to collage. She was going to leave and by leaving that meant leaving Alex. And so Piper thought that that was why Alex took it. So she would be going somewhere too. 

 

Then her thoughts changed. The thoughts of, “what if she accepted to get away. from _me_ ”

 

Piper sighed and put her head onto her desk. “What the fuck Alex.” 

 

* * *

 

Alex woke up suddenly. It was one of those moments where something just startles you awake. Maybe it was a dream, or maybe you just had to wake up at that moment. Either way, she was awake. 

 

Then she noticed the Piper’s desk light was on, with her asleep there. "Jesus Pipes. Do you ever stop studying?" She laughed to herself. 

 

Although she wasn't fully sure she could actually lift Piper to her bed carefully, she did it anyway. Of course, Piper woke up, still in a sleepy haze. "Al?"

 

"Studying hard huh kid?" Alex put her on the bed. Piper automatically lay down. 

 

Alex put a blanket over her before sliding into bed beside her. She then put her arms around the blonde, and then kissed the back of where neck. 

 

"You took the job... Didn't you." Piper mumbled. 

 

Alex kind of shifted back a bit, not knowing what to say. Piper then turned around so the two of them were face to face. "I haven't known what to say... And now I do... But I want to hear you tell."

 

"Let's talk about this tomorrow."

 

"No, Alex. I need to hear you say it, right now."

 

There was a long silence. Then Alex finally spoke.  "Fine. I took the job."

 

......

........

.....

 

"When did you take it?"

 

".... I took it when... I told you I wouldn't. I took it that day."

 

"Of course you did." Piper sighed as she sat up. Then alex did the same. 

 

"Look Pipes, I know I should have told you, but I don't need permission to accept a job offer."

 

"Alex..."

 

"I like it, and I'm not going to quit."

 

"I know."

 

"Wait... What?" Alex was surprised by this answer. "You're... Okay with it?"

 

"Well, like you said... I really can't say what you can and can't do. And honestly, recently you've been happy. And I mean really happy. I don't want to be the one to get in the way of that... But I have to know one thing."

 

"Yeah?"

 

"You didn't take it so you could leave... Right?"

 

"What do you mean?" 

 

"Did you take it so you could leave me..."

 

"No. Don't be ridiculous."

 

"Okay."

 

"Piper, did you think I wanted to get away from you?"

 

"No," she shook her head. 

 

"You are going off to college, and I didn't want to spend my life here while you went off and... Did great things. I couldn't just do nothing turning into... My mom..."

 

...

.....

....

 

"I saw... No, I see just how hard it is for her. Constantly working, never getting many breaks. With this I'll be able to help her out. Maybe she could quit one of her jobs. I don't want her to go through it for her whole life, and I don't want to be that person either."

 

...

....

 

Piper put her hand on Alex's shoulders and didn't say anything. She still wasn't fully oaky with this. Alex was doing some highly illegal shit, and there was so much that came with the job. But at the same time she knew that she would probably have to get use to it. 

 

"So you're okay with it?" 

 

Piper let out a small laugh and then replied, "No, I'm not. But I'll get use to it."

 

"Okay" Alex out her hand on too of Pipers. The two of them stared into each other's eyes, even though they couldn't really see. 

 

Maybe she wouldn't be able to accept it right now, but Alex really thought that this would work. Fahri told her that in time she would be able to start traveling. She knew Piper wanted to travel. 

 

She thought that maybe, she would be able to see the work with Piper. 

 

Maybe it would all work out. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright... one more to go...  
> i'd love to hear your thoughts!


	35. Some things come to an end

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright this took waaaay longer to write then I thought it would. So sorry about that!  
> But yes, sadly this is the final chapter. And i've been thinking about doing a sequel so... what do you guys think about that???
> 
> Anyway's I want to thank all of you guys for reading! All your comments and even just the fact that you read it makes me so ridiculously happy. This story has been a crazy ride and i'm glad you've all been here to join me in it!
> 
> so enough talking... here it is the chapter. enjoy!

Alex sat in the dark room. She sat in the pitch black room, no light coming in, staring at the materials she needed. At least she thought she was staring at them. It was impossible to see in the pitch black. 

 

"Let's do this." She sighed as she stood up, grabbed a can opened and broke open the the canister the film was sitting in. She took out the film and attempted to put it on the reel. It was hard, and this was only her second time doing this. 

 

Finally after a few minutes of trying, the film was fully in the real, and in the container. Alex opened up the door, and was blinded for a second by the light. She then went to get all the chemicals she needed, and then soon enough, she was ready to develop her film. 

 

It took a lot of time that she even had to stay in through lunch to develop the film. That was fine with her though. Ever since the other night, when the two of them had that talk, things had been a but awkward. 

 

There were really no bad feelings there, it was just sort of awkward. In fact, Piper had been spending more time with Polly, while she spent her time with Nicky and Emma. 

 

It was almost winter break, which also meant Gerard was leaving. The two of them hadn't spoken much recently. Mostly because he was busy with school work, and it got even harder with her new job. 

 

But there was going to be a small gathering of people at Gerard's house to say goodbye, and also for the holidays. It was mostly for the holidays. 

 

"How's it going?" 

 

"What?" Alex replied startled. 

 

"Sorry didn't mean to scare you." Gerard sat down beside Alex, who was now just waiting for her film to wash. 

 

"I just wasn't expecting anyone."

 

"I was never aware that we actually had a place to develop film in this school."

 

"Hard to believe,   I know. This school has almost nothing, but a photography lab? Of course it has to have one."

 

"You are feeling a lot more sarcastic then usual today, aren't you?"

 

“Kind of hard not to be when you’re stuck in a photography lab with miss insane over there.” Alex tilted her head over to where her teacher was sitting, doing god knows what on the computer. 

 

“Understandable. So, you coming to the holiday part next week?”

 

“Wait, fuck is it the break next week?”

 

“Yup.” 

 

“Thank fucking god.” 

 

“You have any plans?”

 

“Not really, no. Piper and I were going to go on a small road trip, but I don’t know if that still happening.” 

 

“Damn, road trip sounds fun.” 

 

“Better then this.” 

 

“Dont like the company?”

 

“You kidding? You’re company is the worst thing about this moment.” Alex joked, and shot Gerard a playful look. 

 

“C’mon, you love me.” 

 

“Yeah, sure bud.” 

 

* * *

 

“Where were you at lunch?” Piper asked as she caught up with Alex walking in the hall. 

 

“Uh, photo lab. Sorry, i kind of turned off my phone.” 

 

“Oh.” 

 

“Look, Gerard has been bugging me about this for ages, but you want to go to this small gathering at his place next weekend?”

 

“Next weekend? I kind of have plans with Polly…” 

 

“That’s cool. Kind of needed an excuse to not go anyway. He’s a great guy, but jesus i’m so fucking done with that crowd.” 

 

“That crowd as in stoners?”

 

“As in narcissistic assholes who think they are the shit.” 

 

“Ah, no those are the worst kind of people.” 

 

“Exactly.” Alex said as the two stepped outside. 

 

“Where are you heading?” Piper asked as the turned to face each other. 

 

“I was going to head over to the record store to say hi to Emma and then…” 

 

“Your job. Right.” Piper said as she started walking away, “I’ll talk to you later, Al.” 

 

“Later.” Alex waved, and then turned her back and walked away. 

 

* * *

 

Alex walked into the store. Emma was spinning in the swivel chair, groaning. “Ugh I hate how we have to play christmas music.” 

 

“Understandable.” Alex replied as she sat on the front desk. 

 

“How’d developing go?”

 

“Decently. I thought it was supposed to kind of calm you, but it’s honestly kind of stressful.” 

 

“Yeah well, you chose to fucking develop more so you know, you’re fault.” 

 

“Has Nicky been by recently?”

 

“Nope, not at all actually. Why? Haven’t heard from her in a while?”

 

“Not actually honestly. I’m getting kind of worried… “

 

“I’m sure she’s fine.” 

 

“Yeah well, you don’t know Nicky.” 

 

“Would some holiday tunes cheer you up?”

 

“Fuck no.” Alex smiled, lightly kicking the swivel chair away. 

 

* * *

 

A week went by, and Alex was at the front step of Gerards house. She kept wondering why she let Emma and Gerard drag her to this. It wasn’t even because it was a party, because if she was being honest, she loved parties now. She know how good she as in a social situation. 

 

It’s just parities with people who don’t actually understand what counts as a party. And worse, it’s a party where she knows one of her “ex’s” will be at. 

 

During the time Alex and Piper were broken up, Alex saw someone else. It wasn’t like they were really dating. They went on one or two dates. It was more of a hook-up thing, but it didn’t exactly end on good terms.  
  
In fact, Piper was the reason they broke it off. During all those druken fucks, Alex managed to be thinking about Piper. During all those drunken nights that you knew you would wake up from and feel like death, Alex asked for Piper. 

 

This girl was one of Gerard's better friends. And of course, Nat was the one to answer the door when Emma rang the doorbell. The worse thing about this party was that it wasn’t even really a party. It was a small group-hang with not many people. 

 

“Fuck.” Alex sighed as she walked in, not even making eye contact with Nat. In fact, if the two ended up having to speak, Alex was willing to take the highroad.  
  
That was her thought until she heard her say, “break up with Piper cause you kept saying this girls name while you fucked?”

 

“Alright you know what-“ Alex started before Emma interrupted. 

 

“She said someone else’s name while you two fucked!?” 

The whole place was now silent, except for the sound of Emma laughing. “Vause, that is amazing. Although, I could see why you had to picture someone else.” 

 

“Damn!” Some other guy laughed from the other room. 

 

Alex just rolled her eyes and walked in, saying hi to Gerard. 

 

* * *

 

It wasn't as bad as Alex thought it would be. The beer was pretty decent for one, and the company was better then expected. Although Nat made things uncomfortable, Alex was above that. She was nice when she had to interact, and dint actually shoot her any death stares. 

 

Emma had stayed fairly sober for once, which was surprising. But then again, there wasn't really much of party going on. They were mostly just sitting around talking, getting to know each other or I'm some cases catching up on the drama in people's lives. 

 

"God I haven't spoken to you in ages." Alex said as she approached Gerard, who was standing in his kitchen making some kind of drink. 

 

"Dude I spoke to you last week."

 

"Right. We still, remember when we use to be together all the time?"

 

"You mean when you were stoned twenty four seven?"

 

"Yep. Those were the good times."

 

"Alex, I know you don't mean that."

 

"Well I kind of do. I mean, I didn't have to be worried about getting caught, or worry about what my girlfriend thinks, or just overall worry. I was able to give less shits then I do now."

 

" You can't tell me you were happier then then you are on we."

 

"No I really can't. Piper is the best thing in my life. I was a fuck up, sure. But it was a lot easier being a fuck up then it is being someone another person relies on"

 

"Understandable."

 

"I'm gong to head back to the other room." Alex said as she hugged Gerard, "and thank you."

 

"For what?"

 

"Just, generally being there. I owe a lot to you and Nicky."

 

"Speaking of, where's she at? I invited her but never heard anything. "

 

"Really? I haven't either, honestly."

 

* * *

 

Piper and Polly were sitting in Polly's room. They had plans to go out of town this weekend and visit Smith, but due to Polly's parents taking the car, and Pipers parents being out of town with the car, they couldn't make it. 

 

Instead they decided that they could go and visit another time. As exciting as college was, the two of them weren't quite ready to leave high school. Yeah it sucked, but there was something about it that they didn't want to leave. 

 

It was a combination of the security at home, and knowing you didn't actually have to worry about important  life things for a while. But that was ending, and as exciting as it was all, they didn't want it to end this soon.

 

Piper stretched out her legs onto Pollys laps. “I can’t believe it.” 

 

“What?”

 

“Just that it’s almost the new year, and yeah. It’s been a long three years.”

 

“I can’t believe it’s only been three years.” Piper replied, “It seems like i’ve known you for longer.” 

 

“Well… You have. Just a younger me.”

 

“Yeah, and you really did change a lot.” 

 

“So did you.” 

 

It was silent for a while, until Polly spoke up again. “I remember you and Alex when you two were ‘just friends’ and god, that was so entertaining.” 

 

“Shut up.” 

 

“I just can’t believe what you two have been through. I mean, you two have managed to fuck each other over yet you are still together and you love each other. It doesn't seem like anything will tear you apart.” 

 

Piper took a second to think about what she had heard. The two of them really had been through a lot, and they still are together. Not even the fact that Alex took an illegal job managed to do anything. Yeah it was still awkward, but eventually she really would be okay with it. 

 

“It’s been a crazy time.” Piper then replied, “And I just hope that college doesn’t fuck things up.” 

 

“Don’t be ridiculous Pipe. If Larry didn’t manage to keep you apart for long, then collage sure as hell wont.”

 

Piper just nodded, but didn’t reply. Instead she looked at her phone, which had four unread messages. One from Alex, and three from Nicky. 

 

_Alex- ha ha. Tell Polly I say hey._

 

_Nicky- Piper it's Lorna._

_Nicky- sorry got a new phone and never got your number_

_Nicky-but you better come down  to the hospital... It's bad... Hurry._

 

Piper stood up on the stop. She was so startled that she didn't even say anything to Polly. She just walked right out of the room. 

 

"Hey Piper, what's going on?"

 

It took her a minute, but she then replied with "it's Nicky. We have to go."

 

"Shit okay, where?"

 

"The hospital."

 

"Which one?"

 

"Uh... I don't know."

 

"Does alex?"

 

Piper froze. She then realized she needed to call Alex. She wasn't sure if she knew or not, but either way she had to call.

 

* * *

 

When they got to t he hospital Alex and Lorna were sitting in the waiting room. Piper rushed over to the two, while Polly hung back a bit knowing that although she was worried, she didn't know Nicky well. It was their moment, and not one that she needed to be added into greatly. 

 

Alex filled then in on what happened. It was a overdoes. They still weren't sure what exactly happened or when she started using that many heavy drugs. Even Lorna didn't really know. She had noticed a few things, but nothing that great. 

 

This really wasn't how any of them thought that this was how the year would end. They were all told that Nicky was going to be okay, but that they couldn't share much more information other than that. 

 

They needed Nicky's mother, who they were finally able to contact after a few calls. She was shocked, but at the same time she wasn't that shocked. It was as if she had expected this from Nicky earlier. 

 

Either way she said she would be on her way, and that she would be there as soon as she could. But by the time she got there, Nicky was already awake and feeling just a bit better then a few days ago. 

 

It was almost Christmas, and none of the had made any major plans this year. Not even Polly. They all remembered the last time they all hung out and were all on good terms was during Christmas. 

 

It just didn't feel right to plan something with one of them in the hospital. Although the doctor did say she would be out in the next few days, which meant she would be home by Christmas Eve. 

 

So they decided that they would probably all just hangout for a while Christmas Eve at one of their houses. But still, nothing big. Nothing like the year before where Piper and Polly went to some giant party and got very drunk. Alex also got wasted at the same party, but neither of them knew they were at the same party. 

 

In fact, Alex got so wasted that she doesn't even remember most of the night. Piper remembers hooking up with some guy who was defiantly older than her. 

 

But this year they all wanted things to be kept quiet. 

 

* * *

 

“Hey.” Nicky said softly when she looked over to see Alex sitting beside her. “What are you still doing here?”

 

“I just wanted to keep you company.” 

 

Nicky let out a small sarcastic laugh, “yeah well, seems like you’re the only one.” 

 

“Piper was here earlier with Lorna. The two just stepped out to get something to eat.”

 

“Right.” Nicky paused, “you heard anything from my mother?”

 

“Not since she was here the other day. Once she was told you would be getting discharged today, she was gone.” 

 

“Guess she couldn’t stand to see her only daughter like this… Not like she wasn’t expecting this or anything.”

 

Alex put her hand on Nicky and squeezed. “I’ll take you home today, okay?”

 

“Yeah.” 

 

Alex wanted to ask Nicky what happened. She had had a few days to ask, but it didn't feel right. So she decided to wait until she at least goy out of the hospital. So instead of saying anything more, the two just stayed in comfortable silence. 

 

* * *

“Alright, so you think she will be okay with us staying here tonight?”

 

“Yes i’m pretty sure she wont mind Lorna.”  
  
“Okay, because it’s just the holidays and everything, and I just feel like-“

 

“You know she wont mind, so what’s on your mind?” Piper said as the two of them sat on Nicky’s couch in the living room. 

 

“Nothing it’s just that I still can’t believe what happened… I mean, how could I have not seen the signs or- or anything.” 

 

“Even Alex didn’t see any signs… So, I wouldn’t blame yourself over not seeing anything. No one did.” 

 

“I know I know, I just feel like i should have been able to.”

 

“I think that even though you couldn’t help out before, now you can.”

 

“And i’m kind of sitting here feeling bad for myself when I should really be back at the hospital.”

 

“They’ll be here soon.” Piper said just as a car pulled into the driveway, “or now.” 

 

“Why does the feel weird… Why do i feel so awkward? I just saw her a few hours ago.” Lorna said as she started to get more nervous. 

 

“Relax. Knowing Nicky she’ll probably kick your ass if you make things any different then they were before.” 

“Right… Right, okay.”

 

Nicky and Alex walked through the door, and the first thing Nicky said was, “Jesus the woman came home and the only thing she did was make the place even more dirty.” 

 

“Actually that may have been us. I may have spilled an entire bag of chips over there.” Piper said as her and Lorna walked over to the other two. 

 

“Nice going Chapman.” 

 

* * *

 

The four of them sat in Nicky’s basement watching their favourite holiday movie, _Black Christmas._ Piper remembers the first time she watched this movie, during halloween. So when they decided to start watching it for the holidays instead Piper was both delighted and annoyed. She found it too scary. 

 

“Man these older movies are so much better then those crap remakes they make now.” Nicky said as she threw a piece of popcorn at the tv. They decided to watch the remake before the original this year. 

 

“At least they didn’t make a sequel. Those truly fucking suck.” Alex replied. 

 

Lorna shushed them, as she had never actually seen either movie. Piper encouraged them to keep talking, because it was too scary to watch quietly. 

 

“So, this Agnes person is his sister?” Lorna asked curiously as she looked up to Nicky and Alex. Her and Piper were on the floor in front of the couch, while Nicky and Alex were sitting on the couch.

 

“Oh uh… Sort of…” Alex replied hesitantly. 

 

“Okay…”

 

“You’ll see.” Alex then continued, “it’s Pipers favourite part of the movie.” she then joked. 

 

“Ha Ha.” Piper replied as she hit Alex’s leg. 

 

“Ow.”  
  
“Please, like that hurt.”

 

“Well how do you know, maybe it.” 

 

“Right, you want me to kiss it better?” Piper teased.

 

Before Alex could replied, Nicky hit her arm and said, “Get a fuckin’ room.” 

 

* * *

 

It was New Years Eve and Nicky and Alex sat on the roof of Alex’s apartment. The two were drinking hot chocolate. It was dark and cold, but thankfully no snow. At least not yet. 

 

“So..” Alex started, “You want to tell me whats up?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“with the overdose-“ 

 

“Look Vause, it was an accident.” Nicky lied, hoping that her friend would just drop it. 

 

“Right.” Alex nodded, “well, if you need anyone to talk to or anything… That’s what you have Lorna for.”

 

“Bitch.” Nicky replied.

 

Alex chuckled as Nicky pushed her over. She knew that Nicky was lying, but she didn’t want to push it. It would be better if Nicky were to tell her when she wanted to. “You think we should head over to Pipers soon?”

 

“Yeah, why not. I’m getting kind of cold.” Nicky said as the two of them stood up and walked inside. 

 

Nicky drove them to Pipers house, where Lorna and Polly already were. There was some music playing and a fire going. The five of them were all going to this party at Emma’s even though none of them really felt like going, not even Polly. 

 

But Emma had convinced most of them that it would be a party worth going to. So they all decided to go, because why not. 

 

“Ugh I hate walking inside when it’s cold out. My glasses always fog.” Alex groaned as the five of them walked into the party. 

“You actually fuckin’ came, wow i’m surprised.” Emma said as she greeted them. 

 

“Yeah well, I enjoy it more now these days.” Alex replied as she looked around the room full of people. She was there purely for her own pleasure, but it wouldn’t be the worst thing if she managed to find a mule or two. 

 

“Right well, come on in.” They all took off their coats and shoes. Emma told them that there was a room to put all their stuff in. After that, Emma disappeared into her house, where a bunch of other people were. 

 

Nicky had brought some alcohol for all of them to share, along with what was already there. They all got their drink and started to wander around the house, occasionally saying hi to someone they recognized. 

 

Alex was the one who recognized most people there, as they were at least a few years older then them. Though she didn’t make a point of it. She’d rather not have her work mix with Piper just yet.

 

“This place is actually huge.” Piper said to Alex, who just nodded. “Did you know her family was this rich?”

 

“Nope, she kind of failed to mention that when you made us ignore her all that time.”

“Right… Anyway this is just so not what i expected.” 

 

Alex agreed and the five of them sort of split up. Piper and Polly went off to talk to these kids they knew from their old history class. Nicky and Lorna spoke to some kid’s from Lorna’s school, and Alex went off to find where Emma was. 

 

“Hey.” A guy said, tapping Alex on the shoulder. When she turned around she sighed and took the guys hand and dragged him somewhere quieter. 

 

“What the fuck do you want?”

 

“I know you’re holding.”

 

“Yeah, and again i’m not giving you any. I’m not a fucking dealer.” 

 

“Okay sure, but please I need something.” The guy pleaded. When Alex first found him she thought her would be useful, but when he ended up just doing to drugs she knew he would be no help.

 

“Why the fuck are you even here?”

 

“Why the fuck do you think?”

 

“Right, well why don’t you fuck off and leave me alone.” Alex said as she started to walk away.

 

“Please, i have money.” 

 

Alex turned around and gave him a death stare. Before she could say anything though, Piper came over to the two. “everything okay here?”

 

“Yeah.” Alex replied. 

 

“No, it’s not actually.” The guy said, noticing that Alex clearly did not want the other girl to know what was going on. 

 

“Al?”

 

“You friend here owes me something,”

 

“I don’t owe you shit.” Alex snapped.

 

“You owe me that fucking h-“ Alex panicked, she did not need Piper to know that she actually carried heroin on her, so in order to get the guy to not say what she knew he was going to say, she punched him right in the face. 

 

“Alex!” Piper yelped out.

 

“Shit.” Alex said, shaking her hand. 

 

“What the fuck!” The guy said as he stood up straight, hand over where he was hit. 

 

Alex didn’t know how to respond to what she had just done. But the next thing she knew, she was being punched in the face. “Fuck.” 

 

“Whatever, bitch. I’ll find someone else.” The guy mumbled before walking away. 

 

Alex’s lip was cut by her teeth. When she looked at her hand, there was a small amount of blood. The two of them went to the washroom to clean up the cut. It was silent and awkward, until Piper started to laugh a bit. 

 

“What?”

 

“Nothing, just at least this time you’re conscious.”

 

“Again, what?”

 

“Last time you got punched. You were wasted.” 

 

“Right, I remember that. Sort of…”

 

“Man, you really never liked Larry.” 

 

“I disliked him even more when he tried to make a move on you.” 

 

“That’s why punched him?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Wow. I’m glad you two never interacted when Larry and I were-“ Piper stopped herself from saying anything more. 

 

More silence. 

 

“What was that all about anyway?”

 

“Uh-“

 

“Please Al, can you just be straight about it for once?”

 

“Okay…” Alex sighed, “He uh… came to me looking for… drugs…”

 

“What? Please don’t tell me you carry around drugs.” Piper snapped.

 

“I don’t have any with me right now.” 

 

“But you do. You do carry them around.”

 

“Okay Piper, it’s not what you think.”

 

“Except it is what I think. You give drugs to these people you work with… You’re a fucking drug dealer.” 

  
It was at that moment that Alex realized Piper didn’t actually know what she did. Because she sure as hell wasn’t a drug dealer. “No i’m not.”

 

“Then what are you?”

 

“I… find drug mules. People who actually move the drugs from place to place…”

 

“Right, and-“ Piper paused for a second. She thought about what Nicky had overdosed on, and where she might have gotten it. “It’s heroin, isn’t it?”

 

“yeah…” Alex nodded slightly.

 

“Did you give it to Nicky? Is that how she overdosed?”

 

“What? Piper are you fucking kidding me?”

 

“No Alex, i’m not. Did you ask her to help you out and did you give her the drugs?”

 

“What the fuck Piper, do you honestly think I would do that to my best fucking friend?”

 

“I don’t know. Maybe you would.” 

 

“Fuck off Piper.” Alex said before she left the washroom. 

 

* * *

 

"Okay you actually accused her of giving the drugs to Nicky?" Polly asked as she and her friend sat down outside in the cold. 

 

"Yeah..." Piper really regretted even thinking that, but with everything going on it seemed like to only real answer.

 

"Shit. I mean, I understand where that's coming from but still..."

 

"I know I know I need to apologize. I really do." 

 

"But you're here with me. You piss her off that much that she still won't talk to you?"

 

"Yep. It's been almost two hours since too." Piper sighed, "fuck."

 

"One hour!!" A guy shouted out as he and a group of people walked inside the house. Piper and Polly had seen them leave earlier. 

 

"Shit we've been out here for ages!" Piper said as she stood up. Polly stood up after her and then the two walked inside. Things had gotten more hectic since they first arrived. People were more drunk, music had gotten a lot faster. 

 

Nicky and Lorna were sitting on the couch together, mostly just making out. But once Polly and Piper made their way over they seemed to find some time to breath. "How's it going?"

 

"Not bad." Piper replied. 

 

"You seen Alex?" Polly then asked suddenly. 

 

"Uh yeah, last I saw she was with Emma downstairs." Nicky replied. "And hey, Piper. It's all on me. Alex didn't do anything."

 

Piper just nodded her head slightly, unsure of what exactly to reply with. She left the three of them and went to the basement to find Alex. When she got down there it was brightly lit and smelled like weed. 

 

She made her way into the room where everyone was, but didn’t see Alex. “Hey, Emma.” 

 

“Oh hey Piper! How’s it going?” Emma said as she stood up and walked over to the blonde. 

 

“I’m looking for Alex?”

 

“So that’s why you’re here. Thought it was a little odd you were here. Unless you do smoke?”

 

“Uh no I don’t, but uh… Thanks.” Piper said awkwardly, really just hoping she could find Alex soon. 

 

“Right, anyway yeah Alex isn’t here. She went out to buy cigarettes or alcohol or something.”

 

“Oh- okay.” Piper started to make her way back where she came from when Emma stopped her. 

 

“She’s not pissed at you- well, not much anymore.” Emma started. “But you need to make things better… I mean, c’mon dude.”

 

“Did she tell everyone about this?”

 

“No.” Emma shook her head, “there were just flames coming out of her eyes when she found me. And I may have told Nicky… But Alex doesn’t need to know that.” 

 

“Right, well-“

 

“Here.” Alex said as she walked up behind Piper, and handed Emma a bag of chips, “This the flavour you wanted?”

 

“Awesome, thank’s dude.” 

 

“Alex?” Piper said as she turned around. 

 

Alex just looked at her and said “Yeah,” in a tone that almost made Piper not want to continued talking, but she did. 

 

“I’m sorry I shouldn’t have-“

 

“Accessed me of supplying my friend drugs, which she overdosed on? Yeah, you shouldn’t have.” Alex snapped. 

 

“Please, i’m sorry… It was wrong of me. I never should have said it.” 

 

“Look Piper, the real problem here isn’t that you thought I would do that, it’s because of what I do. Still.” 

 

“No it’s-“

 

“It is Piper, and please do not say it isn’t.” 

 

Piper took Alex’s hand and lead her to a quieter area to talk. “Okay, fine.”

 

“What?”

 

“Fine you’re right. I don’t blame you for it but I do blame this fucking job that seems to be causing more and more trouble. I blame that fucking job and I can not _fucking_ believe you carry around drugs.” 

 

“Piper-“

 

“Not just any drug, but heroin? Alex how fucking stupid are you?”

 

“Jesus, this is the exact fucking reason why I didn’t want to tell you any of this from the second I got the job offer.” 

 

“Right, well i’m sorry Alex. I’m sorry i’m making your decision to be some drug dealer hard for you.” Piper started to storm out of the room when Nicky then bragged in, almost  hitting Piper in the face.

 

“Shit sorry.” Nicky said to Piper when she walked in. “Uh, Alex I forgot to give this to you earlier.” She tossed a small box over to Alex clumsily. 

 

It was a bad enough throw that it barely reached Alex, and fell on the floor. It broke open and out fell a smaller jewellery box. 

 

“Fuck.” Nicky said, “Sorry.”

 

Piper picked it up and opened it. Inside was an engagement ring. It was silent for what felt like a lifetime. By the time Piper spoke up again, Nicky had left. It was like time went by around her but she stayed in the same place. 

 

“Al I-“ she started saying. 

 

“Piper, I- I did not think this is how the night would be going…” Alex then replied, walking over to Piper. 

 

“Were you going to ask me to-“

 

“Marry you? Well… Uh… Shit…” 

 

Piper looked up into Alex’s eyes. It was the most vulnerable Alex had ever been and she hated it. “It was just an idea but- no, it was nothing.”

 

“What the fuck Alex?” Piper then said sharply. 

 

“What?” 

 

“You were actually going to ask me. Today?”

 

“Yeah.” 

 

“You are a fucking Idiot.” 

 

“Where the fuck is this coming from?”

 

Piper didn’t say anything. In fact, neigh of them said anything for fifteen minutes. 

 

“I can’t marry you.” Piper said softly. 

 

……..

 

………

 

………..

 

“I mean, of fucking course I would, but not now. I can’t.” Piper shook her head slightly. 

 

“I know.” Alex replied,

 

“I don’t care about it.”

 

“About what?” Piper was being all sorts of confusing right now. 

 

“Your job.”

 

“Piper can we not get into this again?.”

 

“I mean it. I just said that because its what I thought would piss you off more-“

 

“Wow, that’s mature.”

 

“- but I really did think it was you… But I was wrong. I didn’t trust you and that was wrong.”

 

“Okay.” Alex then replied.

 

“Okay?” Piper said, confused. She was expecting Alex to be more angry, but instead she seemed okay with it. 

 

“Yeah.” Alex then leaned in and kissed Piper, who then kissed her back. “I love you Piper, and I can see why you would think that. I mean it’s not something I like you thinking at all… But if I were you i’d probably say the same thing.” 

 

“I’m still sorry.” 

 

“Apology accepted.”

 

“You okay about it? About me saying no?”

 

“Extremely, honestly. I don’t think I could even begin to imagine what i would be like married…”

 

“I couldn’t imagine.” Piper laughed. “Although, someday I want to.”

 

“It’ll probably take some time for me to even consider it…” 

 

“Except, you did consider it.”

“I know, but that’s because it would have been with you, Piper Chapman.” Alex smiled. 

 

Piper smiled back and kissed Alex, pulling her down to her height. Piper could feel Alex’s smile on her lips, and it made her want her more. She always did that. Smile into her kisses that is. 

 

But Alex never smiled into a kiss with anyone else. In fact, most of the things she does with Piper is something she probably wouldn’t do with anyone else. 

 

Why? 

 

Because Piper was different.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was that for an ending?  
> Again, thank you guys sooo so sooo much for reading!  
> hopefully you will stick around for my next fic, which will be a Rizzles one!


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